EQT CORPORATION (NYSE:EQT) Files An 8-K Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement

EQT CORPORATION (NYSE:EQT) Files An 8-K Entry into a Material Definitive AgreementItem 1.01. Entry Into a Material Definitive Agreement.

As previously disclosed, on June19, 2017, EQT Corporation (EQT) entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the Merger Agreement) with Rice EnergyInc. (Rice), to which, subject to the satisfaction or waiver of certain conditions, EQT will acquire Rice by means of the merger of a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of EQT with and into Rice (the Merger), immediately followed by the merger of Rice with and into another wholly owned indirect subsidiary of EQT. The Merger Agreement also provides that, in connection with the Merger, EQT will submit a proposal (the Charter Amendment Proposal) to its shareholders to approve an amendment and restatement of EQT's articles of incorporation in order to increase the maximum number of permitted directors on the EQT board from twelve to thirteen, and, subject to such approval being obtained, cause such amendment to become effective immediately following the closing of the Merger (the Charter Amendment).

On October26, 2017, EQT and Rice entered into an amendment to the Merger Agreement (the Merger Agreement Amendment) in order to revise the applicable provisions such that the Charter Amendment and the Charter Amendment Proposal now contemplate an increase in the permitted size of the EQT board from twelve to fifteen, rather than thirteen, directors.

The foregoing description of the Merger Agreement Amendment is only a summary, and is subject to and qualified in its entirety by reference to the Merger Agreement Amendment, a copy of which is filed with this Current Report on Form8-K as Exhibit2.1 and incorporated by reference herein.

Item 1.01.Other Events.

In connection with the proposed revisions to the Charter Amendment Proposal described in Item 1.01 of this Current Report on Form8-K, EQT and Rice are issuing a supplement (the Proxy Supplement) to the parties' definitive joint proxy statement/prospectus dated October12, 2017. The Proxy Supplement is attached hereto as Exhibit99.1 and incorporated by reference herein.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This communication may contain certain forward-looking statements, including certain plans, expectations, goals, projections, and statements about the benefits of the proposed transaction, EQT's and Rice's plans, objectives, expectations and intentions, the expected timing of completion of the transaction, and other statements that are not historical facts. Such statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks, and uncertainties. Statements that do not describe historical or current facts, including statements about beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as expect, anticipate, believe, intend, estimate, plan, target, goal, or similar expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as will, may, might, should, would, could, or similar variations. The forward-looking statements are intended to be subject to the safe harbor provided by Section27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

While there is no assurance that any list of risks and uncertainties or risk factors is complete, below are certain factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained or implied in the forward-looking statements including: risks related to EQT's acquisition and integration of acquired businesses and assets; the cost of defending EQT's intellectual property; technological changes and other trends affecting the oil and gas industry; the possibility that the proposed transaction does not close when expected or at all because required regulatory, shareholder or other approvals are not received or other conditions to the closing are not satisfied on a timely basis or at all; potential adverse reactions or changes to business or employee relationships, including those resulting from the announcement or completion of the transaction; uncertainties as to the timing of the transaction; competitive responses to the transaction; the possibility that the anticipated benefits of the transaction are not realized when expected or at all, including as a result of the impact of, or problems arising from, the integration of the

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two companies; the possibility that the transaction may be more expensive to complete than anticipated, including as a result of unexpected factors or events; diversion of management's attention from ongoing business operations and opportunities; EQT's ability to complete the acquisition and integration of Rice successfully; the possibility of litigation relating to the transaction; and other factors that may affect future results of EQT and Rice. Additional factors that could cause results to differ materially from those described above can be found in EQT's Annual Report on Form10-K for the year ended December31, 2016 and in its subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form10-Q for the quarters ended March31, 2017, June30, 2017 and September30, 2017, each of which is on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) and available in the "Investors" section of EQT's website, https://www.eqt.com/, under the heading "SEC Filings" and in other documents EQT files with the SEC, and in Rice's Annual Report on Form10-K for the year ended December31, 2016 and in its subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form10-Q for the quarters ended March31, 2017 and June30, 2017, each of which is on file with the SEC and available in the "Investor Relations" section of Rice's website, https://www.riceenergy.com/, under the subsection "Financial Information" and then under the heading "SEC Filings" and in other documents Rice files with the SEC.

All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made and are based on information available at that time. Neither EQT nor Rice assumes any obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect circumstances or events that occur after the date the forward-looking statements were made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events except as required by federal securities laws. As forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties, caution should be exercised against placing undue reliance on such statements.

Important Additional Information

In connection with the proposed transaction, EQT has filed with the SEC a registration statement on FormS-4 that contains a joint proxy statement of EQT and Rice and also constitutes a prospectus of EQT. The registration statement was declared effective by the SEC on October12, 2017 and EQT and Rice commenced mailing the definitive joint proxy statement/prospectus to their respective shareholders on or about October12, 2017. This communication does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or a solicitation of any vote or approval. SHAREHOLDERS OF EQT AND STOCKHOLDERS OF RICE ARE URGED TO READ THE DEFINITIVE JOINT PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS REGARDING THE TRANSACTION AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS FILED OR THAT WILL BE FILED WITH THE SEC, AS WELL AS ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS TO THOSE DOCUMENTS, BECAUSE THEY CONTAIN OR WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. Investors may obtain a free copy of the registration statement and the joint proxy statement/prospectus, as well as other filings containing information about EQT and Rice, without charge, at the SEC's website (http://www.sec.gov). Copies of the documents filed with the SEC by EQT can be obtained, without charge, by directing a request to Investor Relations, EQT Corporation, EQT Plaza, 625 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222-3111, Tel. No. (412)553-5700. Copies of the documents filed with the SEC by Rice can be obtained, without charge, by directing a request to Investor Relations, Rice EnergyInc., 2200 Rice Drive, Canonsburg, Pennsylvania 15317, Tel. No. (724)271-7200.

Participants in the Solicitation

EQT, Rice, and certain of their respective directors, executive officers and employees may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies in respect of the proposed transaction. Information regarding EQT's directors and executive officers is available in its definitive proxy statement, which was filed with the SEC on February17, 2017, and certain of its Current Reports on Form8-K. Information regarding Rice's directors and executive officers is available in its definitive proxy statement, which was filed with the SEC on April17, 2017, and certain of its Current Reports on Form8-K. Other information regarding the participants in the proxy solicitation and a description of their direct and indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, is contained in the definitive joint proxy statement/prospectus of EQT and Rice and other relevant materials filed with the SEC. Free copies of this document may be obtained as described in the preceding paragraph.

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Item 1.01.Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d)

Exhibits.

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EXHIBIT INDEX

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to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

Date: October26, 2017

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QuickLinks

Item 1.01. Other Events. Item 1.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits.

EXHIBIT INDEX EQT Corp ExhibitEX-2.1 2 a2233631zex-2_1.htm EX-2.1 QuickLinks — Click here to rapidly navigate through this document Exhibit 2.1 EXECUTION VERSION AMENDMENT NO. 1 TO AGREEMENT AND PLAN OF MERGER                 This AMENDMENT NO. 1 (this “Amendment”),…To view the full exhibit click here
About EQT CORPORATION (NYSE:EQT)
EQT Corporation (EQT) is an energy company. The Company operates through two business segments: EQT Production and EQT Midstream. EQT Production is a natural gas producer in the Appalachian Basin with over 10 trillion cubic feet equivalent (Tcfe) of natural gas, natural gas liquid (NGL) and crude oil reserves across approximately 3.4 million acres, including approximately 630,000 gross acres in the Marcellus play. EQT Midstream provides gathering, transmission and storage services for the Company’s produced gas and for the independent third parties across the Appalachian Basin. Its EQT Production segment conducts lateral horizontal and completion drilling in the Appalachian Basin. EQT Production’s properties are located in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky and Virginia. EQT Midstream owns or operates approximately 8,250 miles of gathering lines and approximately 180 compressor units, as well as other general property and equipment.