CORRESP 1 filename1.htm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MARTIN LIPTON

HERBERT M. WACHTELL

THEODORE N. MIRVIS

EDWARD D. HERLIHY

DANIEL A. NEFF

ANDREW R. BROWNSTEIN

MARC WOLINSKY

STEVEN A. ROSENBLUM

JOHN F. SAVARESE

SCOTT K. CHARLES

JODI J. SCHWARTZ

ADAM O. EMMERICH

RALPH M. LEVENE

RICHARD G. MASON

DAVID M. SILK

ROBIN PANOVKA

DAVID A. KATZ

ILENE KNABLE GOTTS

JEFFREY M. WINTNER

TREVOR S. NORWITZ

BEN M. GERMANA

ANDREW J. NUSSBAUM

RACHELLE SILVERBERG

STEVEN A. COHEN

DEBORAH L. PAUL

DAVID C. KARP

RICHARD K. KIM

JOSHUA R. CAMMAKER

MARK GORDON

JOSEPH D. LARSON

JEANNEMARIE O’BRIEN

WAYNE M. CARLIN

STEPHEN R. DiPRIMA

NICHOLAS G. DEMMO

IGOR KIRMAN

JONATHAN M. MOSES

T. EIKO STANGE

JOHN F. LYNCH

WILLIAM SAVITT

ERIC M. ROSOF

GREGORY E. OSTLING

DAVID B. ANDERS

ANDREA K. WAHLQUIST

51 WEST  52ND  STREET

NEW YORK, N.Y. 10019-6150

TELEPHONE: (212) 403 -1000

FACSIMILE:    (212) 403 -2000


 

GEORGE A. KATZ (1965-1989)

JAMES H. FOGELSON (1967-1991)

LEONARD M. ROSEN (1965-2014)


OF COUNSEL

 

ADAM J. SHAPIRO

NELSON O. FITTS

JOSHUA M. HOLMES

DAVID E. SHAPIRO

DAMIAN G. DIDDEN

IAN BOCZKO

MATTHEW M. GUEST

DAVID E. KAHAN

DAVID K. LAM

BENJAMIN M. ROTH

JOSHUA A. FELTMAN

ELAINE P. GOLIN

EMIL A. KLEINHAUS

KARESSA L. CAIN

RONALD C. CHEN

GORDON S. MOODIE

DONGJU SONG

BRADLEY R. WILSON GRAHAM W. MELI

GREGORY E. PESSIN

CARRIE M. REILLY

MARK F. VEBLEN

VICTOR GOLDFELD

EDWARD J. LEE

BRANDON C. PRICE

KEVIN S. SCHWARTZ

MICHAEL S. BENN

SABASTIAN V. NILES

ALISON ZIESKE PREISS

TIJANA J. DVORNIC

JENNA E. LEVINE

RYAN A. McLEOD

ANITHA REDDY

JOHN L. ROBINSON

JOHN R. SOBOLEWSKI

STEVEN WINTER

EMILY D. JOHNSON

JACOB A. KLING

RAAJ S. NARAYAN

VIKTOR SAPEZHNIKOV

MICHAEL J. SCHOBEL

ELINA TETELBAUM

WILLIAM T. ALLEN

MARTIN J.E. ARMS

MICHAEL H. BYOWITZ

GEORGE T. CONWAY III

KENNETH B. FORREST

SELWYN B. GOLDBERG

PETER C. HEIN

MEYER G. KOPLOW

LAWRENCE S. MAKOW

DOUGLAS K. MAYER

MARSHALL L. MILLER

PHILIP MINDLIN

ROBERT M. MORGENTHAU

DAVID S. NEILL

HAROLD S. NOVIKOFF LAWRENCE B. PEDOWITZ

ERIC S. ROBINSON

PATRICIA A. ROBINSON*

ERIC M. ROTH

PAUL K. ROWE

DAVID A. SCHWARTZ

MICHAEL J. SEGAL

ELLIOTT V. STEIN

WARREN R. STERN

PAUL VIZCARRONDO, JR.

PATRICIA A. VLAHAKIS

AMY R. WOLF

 

 

 


* ADMITTED IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA


COUNSEL

 

 

 

 

 

DAVID M. ADLERSTEIN

AMANDA K. ALLEXON

LOUIS J. BARASH

FRANCO CASTELLI

DIANNA CHEN

ANDREW J.H. CHEUNG

PAMELA EHRENKRANZ

KATHRYN GETTLES-ATWA

ADAM M. GOGOLAK

NANCY B. GREENBAUM

MARK A. KOENIG

LAUREN M. KOFKE

J. AUSTIN LYONS

ALICIA C. McCARTHY

PAULA N. RAMOS

NEIL M. SNYDER

S. CHRISTOPHER SZCZERBAN

JEFFREY A. WATIKER

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

June 5, 2019

 

 

 

VIA EDGAR

 

Perry Hindin
Office of Mergers and Acquisitions
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Division of Corporation Finance
100 F Street NE
Washington, D.C. 20549

 

Re:                             EQT Corporation
Definitive Additional Soliciting Materials on Schedule 14A
Filed May 30, 2019
File No. 1-03551

 

Dear Mr. Hindin:

 

We write to you on behalf of our client, EQT Corporation (the “Company” or “EQT”), to provide EQT’s responses to the comment of the staff of the Division of Corporation

 


 

Finance (the “Staff”) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) regarding a screenshot of the web pages appearing on the Company’s website address at https://VoteGoldForEQT.com filed with the Commission on May 30, 2019 on Schedule 14A (the “Webpage”) contained in your letter dated June 3, 2019 (the “Comment Letter”).  We have set out the text of the comment from the Comment Letter in bold text followed by our response.

 

In connection with this letter, we have updated the Webpage.

 

Preliminary Proxy Statement

 

Letter to Shareholders

 

1.                                      The webpage contains the following statement “Unreasonable, seeking to take control of the entire EQT Board without paying a control premium to other shareholders” (emphasis added). The “Rice Platform,” seeking to reconstitute EQT’s Board, is an exercise of the Rice Group’s right, as shareholders of the Company, to nominate directors for election at the Annual Meeting rather than a purchase of a controlling interest in the Company’s capital stock. In addition, EQT’s statement that the Rice Team is seeking to take control of the “entire EQT Board” (emphasis added) is unsupported given that the Rice Team’s slate of seven nominees includes Daniel J. Rice IV, who currently serves on the Board and has been re-nominated for election by the Company. Please revise the webpage to delete the reference to taking control of the entire board and qualify such statement by noting that control premiums are not commonly associated with exercising a right to nominate directors but rather with purchases of a controlling interest in the capital stock of a company.

 

RESPONSE:

 

The Company acknowledges the Staff’s comment.  While the Company respectfully believes that the statement on the Webpage that the Rice Group is “seeking to take control of the entire EQT Board” is not false or misleading within the meaning of Rule 14a-9, the Company has deleted the word “entire” from this statement.

 

With respect to the reference to a control premium, the Company respectfully advises the Staff that it does not believe that the referenced statement is false or misleading within the meaning of Rule 14a-9.  The Company is not asserting that a control premium is typically payable in connection with a proxy contest.  Rather, the Company is informing shareholders that the Rice Group’s solicitation, if successful, would allow the Rice Group to take control of the Board without paying a control premium.  The Company believes it is appropriate to so inform shareholders, because the Rice Group is conducting a proxy solicitation to take control of the Board and replace the chief executive officer and up to 15 members of management, and shareholders have the right to refuse to hand over control to a party in a manner that does not involve paying a control premium.

 

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The Company believes that it would be potentially confusing or misleading to shareholders to add the qualification referenced in the Staff’s comment, as shareholders could mistakenly interpret such a statement to suggest that the Company does not believe it is problematic for the Rice Group to take control without paying a control premium.  Furthermore, the Company notes that the Rice Group will have a full and fair opportunity to refute any statements by the Company, including to present its case to the Company’s shareholders as to why the Rice Group believes it is appropriate that they obtain control of the Board, and in doing so can make any such arguments on their own behalf during the course of their counter-solicitation.  The Company believes that this is the more appropriate avenue for such arguments to be made to the Company’s shareholders, rather than being included in the Company’s solicitation materials.

 

*                                         *                                         *

 

In connection with the Company’s response to the comment in the Comment Letter, the Company acknowledges that it is responsible for the adequacy and accuracy of the disclosure in the filing.

 

Should you have any questions regarding the foregoing or wish to discuss this matter, please contact the undersigned at (212) 403-1005.

 

 

Sincerely,

 

 

 

 

 

 

Victor Goldfeld, Esq.

 

cc:                                Jonathan Lushko, EQT Corporation

 

Steven A. Cohen, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz

 

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