Cenovus Energy Upgrades MEG Stake Ahead of Shareholder Meeting

By Adriano Marchese

Cenovus Energy has purchased a larger stake of MEG Energy on the open market as it looks to stave off rival bidder Strathcona Resources.

The Canadian energy company--whose agreement to acquire MEG at a cash price of 29.50 Canadian dollars ($21.01) a share must be approved by shareholders--has increased its shareholding in the company to 8.5%, it said Tuesday.

Last week, along with a sweetened offer for MEG, Cenovus said the Calgary, Alberta-based companies amended their existing standstill agreement to allow Cenovus to buy up to 9.9% of MEG's shares.

The move was to counter rival bidder Strathcona Resources, another Calgary-based company that has been in hot pursuit of MEG and recently upped its own stake to 14.2% to throw its weight behind a rejection vote at the upcoming meeting of shareholders.

Strathcona began its pursuit of MEG in May by putting in an offer of 0.8 of a common share of Strathcona for each MEG Energy share it didn't already own. The offer represented about C$30.86 per MEG Energy share. MEG's board advised against the deal with Strathcona and later accepted Cenovus' offer.

The special MEG shareholder meeting is set for Oct. 22.

Write to Adriano Marchese at adriano.marchese@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 14, 2025 07:05 ET (11:05 GMT)