Southwestern and Chesapeake Energy Near $17-Billion Merger

The deal could come together as soon as next week, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter, provided the talks do not hit a last-minute snag.

Shares of Southwestern and Chesapeake climbed 6.6% and 3.2%, respectively, on the news.

Reuters reported in October that Chesapeake was exploring an acquisition of Southwestern.

A deal would help the combined company overtake EQT as the largest natural gas-focused exploration and production firm in the U.S. by market value, at a time when shale companies seeking scale and efficiencies are fueling a rapid consolidation.

In 2021, Chesapeake emerged from a bankruptcy which epitomized the boom and bust of debt-laden exploration and production companies that expanded aggressively in the shale patch.

Since then, the company has been shedding oil-producing assets to focus on its competence in natural gas.

(Reporting by Tanay Dhumal in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai and Sriraj Kalluvila)