Alberta Fund Buys U.S. Utility

The province's fledgling investment bank has spread its wings to the West Coast of the United States in a $7.4-billion takeover of Washington state's biggest power and gas utility.

Alberta Investment Management Corp. (AIMCo) teamed up with federal, British Columbia and private counterparts on an offer that shareholders of Puget Energy voted to accept last week.

"There really isn't a lot of political involvement in the transaction," Alberta Treasury spokesman Mike Berezowsky said Friday after the deal was made with no announcements by the Edmonton-based Crown corporation or the provincial cabinet.

The size of AIMCo's commitment and ownership share in Puget were not disclosed. The Washington takeover syndicate also included Australian investment bank Macquarie Group, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and B.C. Investment Management Corp.

AIMCo, Canada's fifth-largest money manager, oversees management of $70-billion including the $16.6-billion Heritage Savings Fund.

Barely more than three months after officially opening for business, AIMCo has also scooped up ownership interests in Edmonton-based oilsands earth mover KMC Mining Corp. and Calgary waste management firm CCS Energy Services.

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