EQT will acquire Range Resources in an all-stock transaction valued at $13 billion to establish the largest natural gas producer in the US. The acquisition of the fellow Appalachian Basin operator creates a combined entity with an enterprise value exceeding $50 billion including debt. EQT stated the merger is intended to expand the company’s capacity to serve power generation and LNG export markets.
The merger was announced alongside EQT’s third-quarter results, which showed revenue of $1.8B against a $1.83B estimate. The company’s adjusted earnings per share of $0.42 beat analyst expectations of $0.39. EQT also launched an open season for a new 42-inch pipeline called POWER and increased its annualized dividend to $0.68 per share.