EQT-Range’s $12.83 Billion Deal Coincides With Anthropic IPO Filing
Key Facts
EQT and Range Resources announced a definitive all-stock merger agreement on October 26, coinciding with Anthropic’s filing of its U.S. IPO paperwork. Under the deal, Range shareholders will receive 0.987 EQT shares for each share they own, at a stated value of $54.91 per share. The deal is valued at $12.83 billion, a 20.6% premium to Friday’s closing price before the announcement. The boards of both companies unanimously approved the agreement, with Range shareholders set to own about 27% of the combined company and EQT shareholders about 73%. The two developments bring together different paths to attracting capital: a merger in the U.S. gas sector and an IPO by an artificial intelligence company that has yet to turn a profit.
The deal news quickly affected both stocks on October 26: Range shares jumped 15.1% to $52.43, while EQT shares fell 3.7%, according to Reuters. Range shares had closed at $45.52 on October 23, according to EL7 data, the price before the agreement was announced. The exchange ratio gives Range shareholders a stake in the combined company instead of cash, while the stated premium is based on Friday’s close before the announcement. The deal remains subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals, despite unanimous approval by both boards. The companies expect to complete it in the first quarter of 2027.
EQT is betting that expanding demand for natural gas will support the combined company, as needs linked to liquefied natural gas exports, power generation and AI data centers grow. The U.S. Energy Information Administration expects domestic consumption to rise from 91.9 billion cubic feet per day in 2025 to 94.3 billion in 2027. EQT Chief Executive Toby Rice said the estimate for potential gas demand in Appalachia had risen to 25 billion cubic feet per day, from a previous estimate of 20 billion. The deal would lower EQT’s unhedged free cash flow breakeven to less than $2 per million British thermal units, according to Reuters. The combined company also expects to generate about $20 billion in cumulative free cash flow over five years, based on recent market prices.
Anthropic filed its IPO paperwork on October 26 and plans to list its shares on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker ANT. Its data show rapid revenue growth, reaching $4.59 billion in 2025, after $386 million in 2024 and $41 million in 2023. But the company recorded a net loss of $80.7 billion in the first half of 2026, compared with $13 billion in the same period a year earlier, according to AP. The agency reported that the published offering document runs to 335 pages and that the company has yet to turn a profit. The figures put sales growth alongside large losses at the center of what investors will assess as they consider the offering.
The losses are tied to heavy infrastructure spending: Reuters said computing costs are Anthropic’s largest expense and that the company has committed to spending more than $500 billion with six partners over a decade. Reuters reports put the company’s valuation among current and potential investors at about $1.5 trillion, down from earlier expectations approaching $2 trillion. Reports also said Anthropic is seeking to raise up to $100 billion through the offering, but AP noted that the final amount and pricing and valuation details have not been settled. The company raised $65 billion in May at a post-money valuation of $965 billion. Anthropic describes itself as a public benefit corporation, while a special class of founder shares carries 50.1% of total voting power on key corporate matters.
The expected listing would put Anthropic in the public market ahead of rival OpenAI, with trading expected to begin in the month after the report was published, according to AP; Reuters pointed to a mid-November target. The founder of Andersen Capital Management said the offering’s outcome would indicate whether investors are prepared to continue supporting capital spending on AI development. The filing came amid market volatility and concerns about an AI investment boom financed by debt and rising borrowing costs. In morning trading on October 26, the S&P 500 rose 0.5%, according to Reuters. The company resulting from the EQT-Range merger expects to complete the deal in the first quarter of 2027, while the start date for Anthropic trading remains subject to completion of the offering process.