"This is likely just the start of big deals in Canadian energy land and thus it begs the question of who is next?" said analyst
"As seen in the
Several industry observers point to
In his report, Skolnick presents scenarios where
"Some (scenarios) have been asked about before and I was just bringing up some new ones — like a CNQ and Suncor merger is not something I've heard out there, but nor was Cenovus-Husky," he said in an interview.
"I'm not going to give zero chance to anything anymore."
Analysts generally applauded the surprise Cenovus-Husky hookup announced Sunday for its operational advantages but criticized the plus-20-per-cent premium in the price for Husky.
"The deal does makes strategic sense," said
"Like
He said Cenovus's reputation as an efficient operator in its steam-driven oilsands projects will help Husky overcome its struggles with operational issues, including higher operating and administrative costs.
The companies have identified
But Gupta added the premium is "excessive" and joined other observers in predicting Cenovus shares would trade lower, as they did, falling by as much as 15 per cent to
Husky, meanwhile, gained as much as 14.2 per cent to
Husky shareholders are to receive 0.7845 of a Cenovus share plus 0.0651 of a Cenovus share purchase warrant in exchange for each Husky common share if the deal is concluded.
Cenovus shareholders would own about 61 per cent of the combined company and Husky shareholders about 39 per cent.
The transaction must be approved by at least two-thirds of Husky's shareholders but
The announcement Sunday came just as
This report by
Companies in this story: (TSX:CVE, TSX:HSE, TSX:SU, TSX:CNQ, TSX:IMO, TSX:MEG)
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