Cenovus Energy, a Canadian oil sands producer, announced on Sunday that it would buy Husky Energy, a company controlled by Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing's family, for about C $3.8 billion (US $2.9 billion) in an all-stock deal. This is the latest example of accelerated consolidation in the energy industry hit hard by the epidemic.

If the deal is completed, Li Ka-shing and his CK HutchisonIndustrial will hold about 27 per cent of the combined company. The combined company will become Canada's third-largest oil and gas producer and Canada's second-largest refiner.

The deal has been unanimously approved by Cenovus and Heskey's board of directors and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2021.

Under the terms of the deal, Heskey shareholders will receive 0.7845 Cenovus shares and 0.0651 Cenovus warrants for each common share. If debt is included, the deal would be worth a total of about 23.6 billion euros.

In December 1986, Li Ka-shing bought a 52 per cent stake in Heskey Energy for HK $3.2 billion through Hutchison Whampoa at the time, when international oil prices were only about $11 a barrel, which Li Ka-shing called "one of the greatest investments of his life". Li Ka-shing and his family business together own more than 70% of Heskey Energy.