EQT buys Equitrans Midstream to expand its natural gas operations
24 minutes ago
EQT Corp. (EQT) was the worst-performing stock in the S&P 500 as of midday Monday after the natural gas producer said it would acquire midstream infrastructure provider Equitrans Midstream Corp. (ETRN) for about $5.5 billion.
EQT explained that through the deal, Equitrans investors will receive 0.3504 EQT shares for each Equitrans share they own. It added that this represents an implied value of $12.50 per share based on the 30-day volume-weighted average of Equitrans stock through Friday. Equitrans shares closed at $11.15 at the time, while EQT shares closed at $37.52.
EQT said the merger would create “America’s first large, integrated natural gas producer.” The combined company is expected to be worth more than $35 billion.
Shares of Equitrans Midstream gave up early gains, rising 2.4% as of 12:20 p.m. ET on Monday, but were still trading near their best level in more than two years. EQT shares fell 8.2% to $34.45 and have lost more than 10% so far in 2024.
-Bill McColl
Choice Hotels ends $7.8 billion takeover bid for Wyndham
1 hour ago
Choice Hotels International (CHH) has ended its approximately $7.8 billion takeover bid for rival Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (WH), accusing Wyndham's board of directors of a “refusal to engage constructively and substantively on the terms.” .
The takeover attempt began nearly a year ago, and Choice's attempts to buy Wyndham morphed over time from a tender offer to a takeover attempt in December. Choice said it had found some support among Wyndham shareholders, but concluded that no “path to a transaction” was currently available.
Choice said it would refocus on its own businesses for now and also announced that its board had approved an increase in its stock repurchase program by 5 million shares, which would be worth about $632 million at Choice's current price.
Choice Hotels shares rose 4.3% to $126.64 late Monday morning, while Wyndham shares rose 1.2% to $76.94.
-Aaron McDade
Reddit plans to raise up to $748 million through an IPO
1 hour and 34 minutes ago
Reddit is looking to raise up to $748 million in its upcoming initial public offering (IPO), according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday.
The social media company said it plans to sell 22 million shares for $31 to $34 each, with 1,760,000 shares, or 8% of the shares on offer, reserved for its users and moderators.
Reddit had previously announced that its user share program would be offered in six tiered priority levels, with each eligible participant assigned a level “based on that participant's contributions to Reddit,” as measured by Redditor Karma, the community contributions metric a user to the platform.
The company filed for its initial public offering to trade on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol “RDDT” in late February.
-Naomi Buchanan
Bitcoin extends its bull market and climbs to a record high above $72,000
2 hours and 21 minutes ago
Bitcoin (BTCUSD) climbed to a record high above $72,000 on Monday morning, extending its big rally over the last month as money flowed into Bitcoin ETFs ahead of a highly anticipated halving.
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies received a boost from Britain's Financial Conduct Authority on Monday after the regulator said it would not object to exchanges listing cryptocurrency-backed exchange-traded notes (ETNs).
The move comes after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in January approved the listing of several spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), a major milestone for the cryptocurrency and its supporters in mainstream finance. This decision and Monday's announcement from the United Kingdom have strengthened the crypto community's claim to legitimacy and lowered the barrier to investing in cryptocurrencies.
Money has flowed into the new ETFs since the SEC's decision in January. BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) surpassed $10 billion in assets under management last week. The milestone was reached in a record two months, driven by both billions of dollars in inflows and the rising price of Bitcoin.
In the last month alone, Bitcoin has gained almost 50%. The gains are due to interest in ETFs and anticipation of an upcoming halving, expected to take place next month, which will reduce the Bitcoin mining reward to 3,125 BTC.
Bitcoin's gains on Monday morning also boosted shares of cryptocurrency-related companies, such as major U.S. exchange Coinbase (COIN), which rose 3%.
Shares of MicroStrategy (MSTR), the software company led by bitcoin bull Michael Taylor, rose more than 9% to a record high after Saylor said the company bought 12,000 bitcoins at an average price of $68,477. The expansion brings MicroStrategy's total holdings to approximately 205,000 Bitcoins, worth more than $14.8 billion.
Stocks make the biggest moves premarket
3 hours and 25 minutes ago
Winnings:
- MicroStrategy Inc. (MSTR): Shares of the software company, which has significant Bitcoin holdings, rose more than 9% after CEO Michael Saylor said the company had acquired an additional 12,000 Bitcoins, bringing its total holdings to 205,000 coins worth of almost 15 billion US dollars.
- Equitrans Midstream Corp. (ETRN): Shares rose more than 5% after EQT (EQT) offered to buy the company for about $5.5 billion. EQT shares lost more than 5% in premarket trading.
- Linde Plc (LIN): Shares of the gas company rose more than 2% after it was added to the Nasdaq 100 index effective March 18.
Losses:
- Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Inc. (WH): Shares fell 5% after Choice Hotels (CHH) abandoned its efforts to acquire the hotel operator. Choice shares rose more than 6%.
- Boeing Co. (BA): Shares of the plane maker fell more than 2% after the Justice Department opened a criminal investigation into this year's Alaska Airlines incident.
- Nvidia Corp. (NVDA): Shares of the semiconductor maker fell more than 1%, extending Friday's 5% decline, as three authors sued the company for copyright infringement related to the use of their works as training materials for its AI platform.
Stock futures are falling to start the week
4 hours 6 minutes ago
Futures contracts tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.4% in premarket trading on Monday.
S&P 500 futures were about 0.5% lower.
Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.6% about an hour before the market opened.
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