EQT Corporation has agreed to acquire Range Resources Corporation in an all-stock transaction that will create a natural gas company with a pro forma enterprise value of more than $50 billion.
Under the agreement, each outstanding Range share will be exchanged for 0.987 shares of EQT common stock. Following closing, existing EQT shareholders are expected to own approximately 73% of the combined company, while Range shareholders will own approximately 27%.
The combined business is expected to produce more than 9 Bcfe per day and hold more than 30 years of inventory across nearly 3 million net acres. It will also control more than 3,700 miles of midstream infrastructure.
EQT said the transaction will strengthen its position as a vertically integrated natural gas producer and expand its ability to supply growing domestic and international demand.
The companies expect approximately $325 million of annual base synergies within two years across corporate functions, operations, and commodities marketing. Longer term, EQT sees a pathway to more than $600 million in annual value from development and infrastructure optimization, improved natural gas, LNG, and NGL marketing margins, and accelerated development tied to contractual demand.
The combination is also expected to lower EQT’s unlevered free cash flow breakeven to less than $2 per MMBtu while increasing NGL diversification.
At recent strip pricing, the combined company is projected to generate approximately $20 billion of cumulative free cash flow over the next five years.
The transaction is expected to close during the first quarter of 2027, subject to regulatory approvals, shareholder approvals from both companies, and customary closing conditions.
Following completion, two Range representatives, including President and CEO Dennis Degner, will join EQT’s board. EQT’s existing executive management team will lead the combined company, which will remain headquartered in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania.
Citi and RBC Capital Markets advised EQT, while Kirkland & Ellis served as legal counsel. Evercore acted as lead financial advisor to Range, with J.P. Morgan Securities also advising the company. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher served as Range’s legal counsel.
KEY QUOTES:
“This transaction brings together two of the highest-quality, longest-duration asset bases in North America and creates a company uniquely positioned for the next era of natural gas. As the lowest-cost natural gas producer in the industry, supported by multiple decades of high-quality inventory, the combined company will offer exceptional resilience through commodity cycles while maintaining significant upside to strengthening natural gas fundamentals.”
Toby Z. Rice, President And CEO Of EQT
“This combination of two highly successful operators with decades of inventory creates opportunities to build long-term value neither could fully realize independently. Our Board of Directors unanimously determined that this transaction will enhance Range shareholders’ ability to participate in a constructive long-term natural gas and NGL macro outlook.”
Dennis L. Degner, President And CEO Of Range Resources
