EQT to Buy Range Resources in $50 Billion All-Stock Deal, Betting on Record U.S. Gas Demand

EQT Corp. (NYSE:EQT) agreed to acquire Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) in an all-stock deal valued at more than $50 billion including debt, creating what the companies call the largest vertically integrated natural gas producer in the United States. Range shareholders will receive 0.987 EQT shares per share held, implying $54.91 a share — a 20.6% premium to Friday's close — and valuing Range's equity at about $12.8 billion, per Reuters calculations. EQT holders will own roughly 73% of the combined company, Range investors 27%. The merged producer will hold nearly 3 million net acres in the Appalachian Basin, over 30 years of drilling inventory and more than 3,700 miles of midstream pipeline, producing over 9 billion cubic feet equivalent a day. EQT said the deal cuts its unlevered free cash flow breakeven to below $2 per million British thermal units and delivers $325 million in annual savings within two years, with a path beyond $600 million. The companies project about $20 billion in cumulative free cash flow over five years at recent strip prices. The EIA forecasts U.S. gas output rising from 107.6 Bcf/d in 2025 to 111.7 Bcf/d this year and 115.9 Bcf/d in 2027, with LNG exports hitting a record 17.4 Bcf/d in 2026. EQT shares fell 4.2% to $53.27 premarket; Range jumped 14.2% to $52.00. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027, subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals.