US gas producer EQT Corp agrees to buy Range Resources in all-stock deal

EQT Corporation, the Pennsylvania-based US natural gas producer, signed a merger agreement on 25 October 2026 to acquire Range Resources Corporation in an all-stock deal. Under the deal announced on 26 October, each Range share will be swapped for 0.987 EQT shares. After closing, EQT's current shareholders are expected to hold about 73% of the merged company and Range's shareholders about 27%, according to the companies' joint release. Both boards approved the agreement unanimously. The companies expect to complete the deal in the first quarter of 2027, subject to regulatory clearances, approval by shareholders of both companies and other customary conditions.

The release does not put a value on the purchase or state a premium. Reuters calculated an equity value of $12.83bn, or $54.91 per Range share, which it put at a 20.6% premium over Range's closing price on Friday 23 October, according to its report. The more than $50bn in the release is the pro forma enterprise value of the combined company, which Reuters said includes debt; it is not what EQT is paying. EQT and Range both trade on the New York Stock Exchange.

The companies expect $325m of base annual synergies within two years from corporate costs, operations and commodities marketing, and describe a pathway to more than $600m over the long term. They project cumulative free cash flow, a non-GAAP measure, of about $20bn over the coming five years, based on recent strip pricing, and say the deal brings EQT's unlevered free cash flow breakeven, also a non-GAAP measure, under $2 per MMBtu. They also expect BBB-quality credit metrics at closing. The combined company would have more than 9 Bcfe/d of net production, more than 30 years of inventory on nearly 3 million net acres and midstream infrastructure stretching more than 3,700 miles, according to the release.

The merger agreement, filed with EQT's Form 8-K, sets termination fees of $423m payable by Range to EQT and $1,148m payable by EQT to Range in certain circumstances. Either side can walk away if the deal has not closed by 25 October 2027, a date that extends automatically to 25 April 2028 if only antitrust clearance or a legal block remains outstanding. When the deal closes, EQT will enlarge its board to 12 members, adding Range Chief Executive Officer and President Dennis L. Degner and one other Range nominee. Both companies will still report third-quarter 2026 results after the market close on 27 October, but have cancelled their 28 October earnings calls.