The company said it would offer 0.62 Strathcona shares and $4.10 in cash for each MEG share, a 9.3 per cent premium based on the company’s May 15 closing price. Strathcona is led by prominent Calgary energy investor Adam Waterous, whose Waterous Energy Fund holds 79.6 per cent of Strathcona Resources shares. (The Logic)
Talking point: MEG shares leapt more than 17 per cent on Friday following the unsolicited bid, reversing the company’s stock market slump that has persisted since oil prices fell to a four-year low in April. Strathcona’s proposed takeover of MEG is also the latest example of consolidation in the Alberta oilsands. Strathcona operates heavy oil facilities in Cold Lake and Lloydminster, while MEG is developing two heavy oil reserves south of Fort McMurray. Combining the two would create Canada’s fifth-largest oil company, Strathcona said, with around 200,000 barrels per day of oil production. The offer would be open for 105 days, it added.