First Nations Bond Deal Breaks Ground for Indigenous Canadians
- Bands raise $430 million to buy a stake in a Suncor tank farm
- Deal shows First Nations can raise cash for equity stake
Suncor Energy oil storage tanks near Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada.
Photographer: Brent Lewin/Bloomberg
This article is for subscribers only.
An unprecedented foray into the Canadian bond market by two small First Nations communities in northern Alberta may provide a template for future business partnerships involving Aboriginals.
It took three years to engineer a deal that turned Fort McKay and Mikisew Cree First Nations into owners of a 49 percent stake in a Suncor Energy Inc. storage facility near the country’s oil-sands region in Fort McMurray. The bond market was a crucial part of the solution, with investors buying C$545 million ($430 million) of 4.136 percent bonds due in 2041 last month. It was the largest debt sale for an Indigenous group in Canada.