BlackRock, CDPQ provide C$250m to cement maker

The financing has helped McInnis reach financial close on the first new cement plant to serve eastern Canada and New England in more than 50 years, the company says.

Montreal-based cement company McInnis Cement has closed a C$282 million ($213 million; €198 million) financing, with C$250 million in commitments from CDPQ and BlackRock Alternative Investors, to build an industrial cement project in Quebec.

The financing should bring the industrial cement project in Port-Daniel Gascons, Quebec to completion, McInnis Cement said. CDPQ provided a preferred equity investment of C$125 million, and BlackRock committed to holding a $125 million debenture. Minority shareholders also agreed to an additional $32 million.

The company said the project, the first new cement plant to serve eastern Canada and New England in more than 50 years, is nearly 75 percent built and has started operations.

“This cutting-edge, world-class cement plant, slated to make its first cement deliveries this spring, will benefit from better-than-anticipated market conditions,” said Christian Dubé, CDQP's executive vice-president.

McInnis said it is also constructing a deep-water marine terminal adjacent to the Port-Daniel Gascons plant, along with other terminals throughout the US and Canada, to allow products to be shipped efficiently.