04:20 PM EDT, 03/11/2024 (MT Newswires) -- CFRA, an independent research provider, has provided MT Newswires with the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:

Today, EQT announced that it plans to acquire Equistrans Midstream Corporation (ETRN 11 NR) in an all-stock deal valued at around $13B, including $7.6B in assumed debt. Each share of ETRN is to be exchanged for 0.3504 shares of EQT, a 12% premium for ETRN shareholders. Based on Friday's close, we estimate the deal at 10.2x EV/EBITDA (2024-based), which is a bit rich to ETRN's historical forward average. We keep our stand-alone EPS estimates for EQT of $2.36 in 2024 and $3.04 in 2025. The deal would expand EQT's midstream footprint by more than 2,000 miles of pipeline infrastructure, bringing its total midstream gathering systems to over 3,000 miles, which we believe could benefit EQT as the new midstream assets should make it easier to get production to market. EQT shares are down ~9% today, as EQT's total debt levels could increase to $13.4B (vs. EQT's total debt of $5.8B at the end of 2024), assuming the deal closes, while only providing around $250M in annual synergies, in our view.