The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday edition that Cenovus Energy has successfully acquired MEG Energy after a five-month bidding war, with the price rising to $30 a share. The Globe's Jameson Berkow writes that initially, Cenovus struck a friendly $7-billion deal to outbid Strathcona Resources' $5.9-billion offer. To gain enough support from MEG investors, Cenovus ultimately raised its offer to over $8.6-billion. Strathcona, holding 14.2 per cent of MEG and previously opposing a sale to Cenovus, agreed to support the latest offer. Cenovus has secured about 79 per cent of MEG shareholders' backing, exceeding the two-thirds majority needed for the transaction at Thursday's special meeting. TD Cowen analyst Menno Hulshof said Monday: "This looks to be a done deal. We now see effectively no deal risk." Bank of Nova Scotia analyst Kevin Fisk said: "Cenovus will be able to complete the MEG acquisition. The company no longer faces the risk of an unsuccessful shareholder vote." A bidding war for MEG is exactly what Cenovus chief executive officer Jon McKenzie was hoping to avoid when he told The Globe in September that his original offer was "the only viable bid" for the company and the Strathcona bid was "not credible."