JANA Partners Sends Letter to EQT's Board, Still Opposes Rice Transaction

Barry Rosenstein's activist hedge fund JANA Partners has filed an amended 13D with the SEC regarding its position in EQT (EQT).  Per the filing, JANA still owns 5.8% of the company with 10,017,129 shares (including options to purchase 1.86 million shares).


We highlighted previously that JANA opposed EQT's transaction with Rice Energy.  They continue to oppose it and JANA has sent a letter to EQT's board, which is embedded below:



You can also read it via the SEC's website here.

JANA Partners Starts EQT Stake, Opposes Rice Transaction

Barry Rosenstein's activist hedge fund firm JANA Partners has filed a 13D on shares of EQT (EQT).  Per the filing, JANA now owns 5.8% of EQT with over 10.13 million shares (inclusive of options to purchase 1.86 million shares).

This is a newly disclosed equity position  for JANA. They purchased shares in April, May and June at prices ranging from $53.xx to $60.xx.

JANA's Letter to EQT Board

Rosenstein's firm also sent a letter to the board of directions and say they invested because "we believe that the Company trades at a substantial discount to its intrinsic value and has a ready opportunity to unleash this value potential by immediately separating its E&P and midstream businesses into two separate companies, which we estimate could create as much as $4.5 billion (or $26 per share) of value for EQT shareholders."

Additionally, they lay out their case as to why they are against the company's acquisition of Rice Energy.

Embedded below is JANA's letter to EQT:



If you overlaid this position on JANA's portfolio as of the end of the first quarter, EQT would be their second largest position, behind only Whole Foods (WFM).

You can view other recent portfolio activity from JANA Partners here.