MEG Energy headquarters in Calgary. Photo by Gavin Bryan John/Bloomberg/File

A contest for control of MEG Energy Corp. in Canada’s usually clubby oilpatch has turned openly hostile, with each side scrambling to lock in support ahead of a crucial vote next month on the oilsands producer’s negotiated takeover deal with Cenovus Energy Inc.

MEG’s board called on its shareholders earlier this week to reject Strathcona’s latest, all-stock offer — although it currently tops rival Cenovus’s bid by roughly seven per cent. In a detailed presentation to its investors on Monday, MEG called the offer “fundamentally unattractive” and criticized Strathcona as a company focused on mergers and acquisitions with an “unproven” track record as a heavy oil operator.

“MEG shareholders would be exposed

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