The Financial Post reports in its Friday edition that Enbridge's decision on Thursday to absorb four of its subsidiaries is designed to mitigate the negative tax implications of a United States regulator changing its policy and to shore up investor confidence, but it will do little to address the $60-billion debt elephant in the room. The Post's David Dias writes that Enbridge intends to swap $11.4-billion in common shares for the equity it does not already own in its four publicly traded master limited partnership (MLP) subsidiaries: Spectra Energy Partners, Enbridge Energy Partners, Enbridge Energy Management and Enbridge Income Fund Holdings. The transaction, subject to shareholder approval and expected to close in the fourth quarter, comes on the heels of a proposal in March by the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to eliminate critical tax advantages for MLP structures. Canaccord analyst David Galison says management has defended the corporate structure, even as depressed oil prices challenged the viability of the operating subsidiaries, but the FERC proposal effectively forced the company's hand. He has a $52 price target on Enbridge. Its stock is down nearly 40 per cent since early 2015.