(Adds CEO comments on hedging plans, background on deal, stock price)
TORONTO, April 11 (Reuters) - Cenovus Energy Inc CVE.TO has 75 percent of financing in place for its C$17.7 billion ($13.3 billion) acquisition of ConocoPhillips' COP.N oil and gas assets, Cenovus Chief Executive Brian Ferguson said on Tuesday.
The strategic rationale for the deal is well understood by investors, though some have questioned the company's divestiture plan, which would partly fund the acquisition, Ferguson said.
ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last month agreed to sell the assets, becoming the latest major international oil company to exit Canadian oil sands. Cenovus shares had their biggest one-day percentage fall ever as investors balked at the deal. investors fear the deal, which effectively doubled the size of Cenovus, will leave the company more exposed to changes in oil prices, according to analysts.
Ferguson said the company will do more hedging after the deal closes, and that it will have lower per-barrel costs as a result of the bigger scale of production.
Cenovus shares were down 1.7 percent in midafternoon trading in Toronto at C$14.76.