The takeover game in the Canadian oilsands is rapidly moving into the later innings – consider this the seventh inning stretch.

In the wake of Cenovus Energy announcing a friendly agreement Friday to buy MEG Energy in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $7.9 billion, analysts and investors believe corporate acquisitions in the oilsands will likely slow as there simply aren’t many sizeable players left to snap up.

And that potential pool is about to get smaller.

“Definitely, there has been a lot of consolidation and a lot of those assets have been picked up by Canadian entities…There’s not a lot left,” said Tom Pavic, president of Calgary-based Sayer Energy Advisors.

“The better quality assets are becoming more and more scarce,” added David Szybunka, senior portfolio manager with Canoe Fina

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