Oct 10 (Reuters) - Strathcona Resources ( STHRF ) on

Friday abandoned its takeover bid for MEG Energy ( MEGEF ),

ending its months-long battle with Cenovus Energy ( CVE ) for the

ownership of one of Canada's last large pure-play oil sands

company.

The move by Strathcona, which is a majority stakeholder in

MEG, comes after Cenovus earlier this week raised its

bid to C$8.6 billion ($6.17 billion), including debt.

Cenovus termed its revised C$29.80 per share bid as its

"best and final" offer. In comparison, Strathcona's revised

offer last month valued MEG at C$30.86 per share.

Strathcona said on Friday as a result of the revised deal

between MEG and Cenovus, and certain actions taken by MEG makes

"an improved offer for MEG impractical and not in the best

interests of Strathcona shareholders."

The takeover saga began in May when Strathcona launched a

C$5.93 billion ($4.29 billion) hostile bid for MEG. However,

Cenovus countered with a C$7.9 billion cash-and-stock offer.

Since then, Strathcona has raised its stake in MEG to 14.2%.

MEG's board had repeatedly urged shareholders to reject

Strathcona's bid, calling it "fundamentally unattractive," and

reaffirmed its support for Cenovus's offer.

MEG's Christina Lake oil sands project remains a coveted

asset for its long reserve life, low operating costs and

potential for production growth.

It is one of the few large-scale expansion opportunities

in Canada's oil sands that is now dominated by a small group of

domestic players after most foreign companies exited over the

past decade.

($1 = 1.4004 Canadian dollars)