The deal, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027, would give the combined company an enterprise value of roughly $50 billion. EQT will pay a nearly 21% premium for Range shares, a significant payout during a period of deflated premiums in oil and gas dealmaking.
Both companies operate primarily in the Appalachian region, particularly the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio. The combined entity would produce more than 9 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day, the most in the United States, and hold 2.8 million net acres with more than 30 years of drilling inventory, plus 3,700 miles of pipelines. EQT CEO Toby Rice said the company could scale production to 17 billion cubic feet per day and eventually 20 billion if demand requires.
“This transaction comes at a pivotal moment for America’s economy as the convergence of modern industry and energy ushers in a new era of growth,” Rice said in a conference call. He pointed to demand spikes expected near 2030 from artificial intelligence data centers and expanding LNG export capacity along the U.S. Gulf Coast. Rice described EQT as “America’s natural gas champion” and the “undisputed leading natural gas platform in North America.”
Range Resources CEO Dennis Degner, who will join the EQT board, said the company was happy with a “go-it-alone approach” but that the EQT deal offered a “compelling premium” for shareholders. Range shareholders will hold 27% of the combined company. “We share EQT’s vision for the future of our industry and their convention that the Appalachian Basin remains the crown jewel of the world’s natural gas resources,” Degner said.
The deal is the second-largest oil and gas transaction of 2026, following Devon Energy’s $26 billion acquisition of Coterra Energy in February. Since the Iran war began in late February, most dealmaking has been on hold amid inflated oil valuations, but EQT and Range are focused almost exclusively on gas.
Energy analysts broadly praised the deal. Andrew Dittmar of Enverus called EQT the new “Appalachian juggernaut,” while Brett Donnes of William Blair described it as the “long-term, low-cost behemoth” for gas and power. Kevin MacCurdy of Pickering Energy Partners said it establishes EQT as “the dominant Appalachia producer and a must own for investors wanting natural gas exposure.”
However, Patrick Harris, senior editor at analytics firm Infralogic, noted contrarian risks: a Russia-Ukraine peace agreement that restores Russian gas to Europe, reduced Middle Eastern LNG transit risk through the Strait of Hormuz, or a slowdown in AI rollout and new technologies that cut data center power requirements could all reduce projected demand.