Canadian oil and gas producer Strathcona Resources said on Tuesday it has purchased additional 6.66 million common shares of rival MEG Energy for about C$190.8 million ($138.09 million).
With this acquisition, Strathcona now owns or controls about 11.8% of MEG’s outstanding shares. Prior to this transaction, it held about 9.2% of the total MEG shares.
The highest price paid for the MEG shares purchased by Strathcona on Tuesday was C$28.80 apiece.
Late last month, Strathcona had said it would increase its ownership to about 14.2%, strengthening its position as a significant minority shareholder in MEG.
The company had then also announced its intention to vote against the acquisition of MEG by another rival, Cenovus Energy.
Cenovus in August agreed to acquire MEG in a C$7.9 billion cash-and-stock deal, after MEG’s board rejected Strathcona’s lower C$6 billion takeover bid in June.
MEG has set October 9 for a shareholder vote on its proposed deal with Cenovus. While its board has approved the offer, it needs support from at least two-thirds of investors to go through. The deal is expected to close early in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Strathcona’s executive chair, Adam Waterous, had told Reuters in August that the company would continue to engage with MEG shareholders before the September 15 tender deadline for its offer.
Since 2020, Strathcona, backed by Calgary-based private equity firm Waterous Energy Fund, has become one of the fastest-growing oil companies in North America through a series of acquisitions.
(Reporting by Pooja Menon in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)