The Globe and Mail reports in its Saturday, June 20, edition that Enbridge has moved forward with a sweeping restructuring plan as it seeks to expedite dividend growth and finance billions in new pipeline projects. The Globe's Jeff Lewis writes that Enbridge said Friday its Enbridge Income Fund would buy $18.7-billion in assets, including the Canadian portion of its mainline oil-shipping network and a patchwork of regional oil sands lines, as well as some renewable energy assets. The deal, known as a drop-down, also includes the assumption of $11.7-billion of debt associated with the assets. The move will lower Enbridge's cost of capital as it advances a $44-billion portfolio of new projects over the next decade. It follows an announcement by Enbridge, last December, that it would transfer ownership of $17-billion of assets to the fund and boost its quarterly dividend by 33 per cent. Enbridge expects per-share dividend growth to average 14 per cent to 16 per cent annually from 2016 to 2018. S&P downgraded Enbridge to triple-B-plus from single-A-minus, citing "weak forecast financial metrics" tied to its growth plans. S&P says, "We view Enbridge's financial risk profile as aggressive."