Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. is selling 67% of its stake in the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel crossing to Borealis Infrastructure Management Ltd. for $132 million, the railway announced Wednesday.

Borealis, which manages infrastructure projects for the huge OMERS pension fund, will pay $110 million outright plus another $22 million, depending upon traffic volumes, for 33.5 percentage points of CP Rail’s ownership portion in the tunnel.

Upon the conclusion of the deal, Borealis will own 83.5% of the project, while CP will hang on to a 16.5% minority stake in the tunnel which links Detroit and Windsor, Ont., and is reportedly the busiest rail and truck crossing in the world.

“This transaction allows us to realize value for our asset and strengthen our balance sheet while preserving our right to operate the tunnel,” said Kathryn McQuade, CP’s CFO.

“The Detroit River tunnel is an investment that fits into our long-term strategy of securing infrastructure assets that can generate stable and sustainable returns for OMERS plan members,” said Michael Nobrega, president and CEP of the giant pension fund.

IE