Adam Waterous is abandoning his quest to acquire MEG Energy Corp. MEG-T

In a statement released late Friday, the executive chairman of Strathcona Resources Ltd. SCR-T said the company was terminating its hostile takeover bid for MEG. The decision effectively puts an end to a dramatic bidding war over the last of Canada’s pure-play oil sands producers that saw the price on the table for MEG rise by roughly $2.7-billion over less than five months.

Strathcona, which is owned by a private equity firm headed by Mr. Waterous, first offered to buy MEG in May for roughly $5.9-billion . The MEG board of directors urged shareholders to reject that deal in June and two months later, on Aug. 22, the MEG board unanimously endorsed a $7-billion takeover proposal from Cenovus Energy Inc. CVE-

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