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Judge Allows Class Action Against EQT/Rice 2017 Merger to Proceed

In June 2019 the Cambridge (Massachusetts) Retirement System sued EQT claiming EQT’s executives had made false and misleading statements about their 2017 purchase of Rice Energy–claims about cost efficiencies that never materialized, and claims about the location of Rice leases that were not as close to EQT’s acreage as claimed (see Mass. Retirement Fund Sues EQT for Plummeting Stock Price). In a word, Cambridge alleged fraud on the part of EQT’s executives and seeks to turn their lawsuit into a class action on behalf of all investors who owned EQT stock at that time.
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OH Landowners Sue Rice, Ascent, XTO, Gulfport for Drilling Too Deep

Do you remember the child’s game called “Simon Says”? That’s what we were thinking when we read about a lawsuit in Ohio by landowners against a group of shale drillers. The lawsuit, initiated by several landowners in Belmont County, OH, claims the drillers drilled too deep–into the Point Pleasant rock layer–when the leases signed only mention the Utica rock layer. The lawsuit, which is seeking class action status, claims “unjust enrichment” by the drillers.
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LOLA Energy Files 2nd Lawsuit Against EQT for Trespass in SWPA

Last July MDN broke the news that LOLA Energy had filed a lawsuit in Greene County, PA against EQT for allegedly drilling shale wells under property EQT formerly leased, but property for which the leases had lapsed and were subsequently scooped up by LOLA Energy II (see LOLA Energy Sues EQT for Trespass, Drilling Wells Under LOLA Land). LOLA said they are the owners of those leases now and that EQT has drilled under some of their properties. In another MDN exclusive, LOLA has just filed a second lawsuit in Greene County against EQT for the same thing: trespassing on LOLA-leased property.
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EQT Settles Lawsuit Against Former Rice Employee

In February, prior to the July takover by Toby and Derek Rice, EQT filed lawsuits in both Pennsylvania and federal courts against two former employees it had fired, claiming the employees, before they were fired, had systematically copied confidential information from company computers and took it with them when they left (see EQT Claims 2 Fired Workers Stole Confidential Information). In March, EQT alleged the employees “stole” the information to help the Rice boys in their bid to take over EQT via a proxy war (see EQT Accuses Fired Employees of Colluding with Rice Boys). EQT just settled/dropped one of the two cases.
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Legal Sharks Circle in Class Action Against EQT/Rice 2017 Merger

In June MDN told you that the Cambridge (Massachusetts) Retirement System is not happy with their investment in EQT shares of stock, so they’re suing the company (see Mass. Retirement Fund Sues EQT for Plummeting Stock Price). They hope to turn the lawsuit into a class action on behalf of other shareholders. Now a group of seven law firms (six in addition to the lawyers for Cambridge) are all petitioning the court to make their firm the lead counsel on a class action lawsuit against EQT.
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Road Trip! EQT CEO Toby Rice Talks to Landowners in Town Hall Mtgs

After a bruising proxy fight, Toby and Derek Rice (formerly from Rice Energy) won control of EQT, the largest natural gas-producing company in the U.S. (see Rice Bros. Win Proxy War to Control EQT – Toby Rice New CEO). Toby Rice has been CEO for barely a month. He announced late last week that he would conduct four “town hall” style meetings with landowners–two this week and two next week.
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Toby Rice Wants to Make EQT a “Fun Place to Work”

As of today Toby Rice has been on the job as EQT’s CEO for one week. According to an interview he granted the Pittsburgh Business Times, so far there have been “no major surprises.” Rice has begun meeting with all 800 EQT employees–some in groups via electronic town hall, others individually face-to-face. It appears his main focus has been to form and add people to an “Evolution Committee”–charged with executing Rice’s previously laid out 100-day plan. Toby also wants to EQT to be a “fun place to work.” He says right now, it’s not.
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Toby Rice, EQT’s New CEO, is NOT Cleaning House re Top Management

The clock is now ticking for Toby and Derek Rice who have made big promises about the future of the company they just seized control of (EQT). The Rice boys have a “100 day plan” they have already begun to implement. During the proxy fight to control EQT’s board, and ultimately its management team, Toby Rice threw some sharp barbs including talk that EQT’s existing management was not up to the task. The Rice boys said so, their board nominees said so, heck, Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) said so too. There will be change (i.e. personnel change) at the “operational level” said ISS. But apparently that change only extended to two people: EQT’s (now former) CEO Robert McNally, and EQT’s (now former) top attorney, Jonathan Lushko–who were shown the door.
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Rice Bros. Win Proxy War to Control EQT – Toby Rice New CEO

Toby Rice – New EQT CEO (photo credit: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Monumentally BIG NEWS! The Rice boys, Toby and Derek, have won the proxy fight to elect their candidates to the EQT board. In a joint announcement made this morning, preliminary results show the Rice boys prevailed in a huge upset (80% of the vote) to gain control of the largest natural gas producing company in the U.S. Later today the new board will meet and vote to appoint Toby Rice CEO and President of EQT. The firing and replacement of top management won’t be far behind.
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LOLA Energy Sues EQT for Trespass, Drilling Wells Under LOLA Land

In another MDN exclusive, last Friday LOLA Energy filed a lawsuit in Greene County, PA against EQT for allegedly drilling shale wells under property EQT formerly leased, property for which the leases had lapsed and were subsequently scooped up by LOLA Energy (see LOLA Energy is Back! Scoops Up Rice Acreage EQT Let Expire). LOLA says they are now the owners of those leases and that EQT has drilled under some of their properties. LOLA tried to broker a deal for compensation but those talks broke down and hence a lawsuit was filed.
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Proxy Advisory Firm Egan-Jones Supports Rice Bros. in Proxy War

A week ago we brought you the news that the country’s top two shareholder advisory firms, Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis & Co., are each supporting opposing sides in the EQT proxy war (see Latest Round of Proxy Announcements from Rice Bros., EQT). A third firm, Egan-Jones–perhaps not quite as high profile as ISS and Glass Lewis but a big deal nonetheless (in the list of the top 6 such firms)–has just endorsed…
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Handicapping the EQT/Rice Proxy Fight – Does it Matter Who Wins?

Photo credit: LA Times

Who’s winning the proxy war to control the board of EQT Corporation? According to an article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the ultimate outcome doesn’t much matter, at least for investors. “Investors love a proxy fight,” begins the article. Why? Because the share price for the company’s stock almost always rises during a proxy fight. As for who has more momentum going into next week’s July 10 annual meeting, it’s hard to deny that the Rice brothers have the big mo. The #1 shareholder in EQT, T. Rowe Price (owns 10% of all EQT stock), along with two other “top 10” EQT shareholders, are backing the Rice plan.
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EQT & Rice Trade Barbs Again, EQT Releases Refreshed Slide Deck

Yesterday saw the latest round of shareholder letters from both sides in the proxy war to control the board of EQT Corporation–the largest natural gas producing company in the United States (not to mention they are focused 100% on the Marcellus/Utica). The Rice brothers, Toby and Derek, crowed about the fact the country’s most prominent shareholder advisory service, ISS, has sided with them, along with three of the top 10 EQT shareholders. EQT made the case that current management and the coming “refreshed” board mean that EQT is essentially a new company, and now is not the time to screw it up (our words, their sentiment).
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Latest Round of Proxy Announcements from Rice Bros., EQT

Another day, another round of press releases from both EQT and the Rice brothers over the future of the company. The two sides are locked in a proxy battle to nominate a majority of board members, who in turn will appoint (or keep) top management for the company. Yesterday’s round of letters was, in essence, a recap of news that broke late last week: One major shareholder advisory firm, Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), supports the Rice brothers’ attempt to take over the company, while a second major advisory firm, Glass Lewis & Co., believes existing management is the right answer for EQT’s future.
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Proxy War: ISS Supports Rice Brothers, Glass Lewis Supports EQT

Early on Friday, Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), which makes recommendations to shareholders on how to vote in proxy fights, gave their stamp of approval to Toby and Derek Rice’s “activist” board takeover picks. ISS is heavily influential with institutional investors–organizations like hedge funds, mutual funds, and pension funds. We thought, “Oh oh, it’s all over now. The Rice boys have won.” But not so fast. Late Friday a second highly influential service that institutional investors look to for guidance, Glass Lewis & Co., threw their support behind the EQT slate of board candidates. The two most influential guidance services have split their support. What will shareholders do?
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