Canada’s Cenovus finishes main divesture plans with Weyburn sale

Canada's Cenovus Energy Inc has reached a deal to sell its Weyburn oil facility for C$940 million ($738.53 million), the company said on Monday, completing its main divesture plans.

Weyburn, to be sold to the western Canadian energy company Whitecap Resources Inc , is the last of four main assets for which Cenovus has reached agreements to sell to pay down debt incurred in the C$16.8 billion acquisition of ConocoPhillips assets this year.

The Weyburn sale would bring Cenovus' asset sale proceeds to just under C$4 billion, compared with its target of C$4 billion to C$5 billion in asset sales.

Reuters last week reported Whitecap was a front-runner in bidding for the asset and intended to raise about C$700 million through a share sale and fund the rest through debt.

Cenvous said in a statement on Monday the sales of Weyburn and other assets would help it retire a C$3.6 billion bridge loan it took for the ConocoPhillips deal, a move that is expected to please investors who balked at how the deal was financed.

The acquisition eventually led to Cenovus's naming Alex Pourbaix, a former executive at TransCanada Corp , as its chief executive officer, replacing Brian Ferguson, who led the deal.

Cenovus has said it may also sell part of the Deep Basin gas assets it acquired from ConocoPhillips.

The company has been talking to potential buyers, sources have said.

(Reporting by Ethan Lou Editing by Sandra Maler)