Three vote delays, two sweetened bids and countless other twists and turns later, shareholders in MEG Energy Corp. have given their blessing to an $8.6-billion takeover by Cenovus Energy Inc.

More than 86 per cent of shares represented at a special meeting Thursday were voted in favour of the deal, well above the two-thirds majority required for it to pass, said MEG chairman James McFarland.

He thanked shareholders for their “patience over the past couple of weeks.”

The meeting was initially supposed to be held on Oct. 9, but was put off for two weeks when Cenovus rejigged its offer for the first time.

It was then postponed another week when it appeared that offer still did not have enough shareholder support to pass. Then last week, a meeting to weigh the offer — sweetened for a

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