(The Center Square) – The second largest natural gas producer in northwest Louisiana and east Texas has sold its assets to Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi.
Aethon, a Dallas-based company that operates in the prolific Haynesville shale formation, agreed to a deal worth approximately $7.5 billion, according to an announcement on Friday.
Mitsubishi agreed to pay $5.2 billion for Aethon’s equity interests and will assume approximately $2.33 billion in net debt. The company expects the transaction will close in the second quarter of 2026.
Aethon’s Haynesville shale assets currently produce about 2.1 billion cubic feet a day of natural gas, equivalent to about 15 million tons per year of liquefied natural gas, Mitsubishi said in a statement. Mitsubishi expects production from these assets to peak in 2028 at 2.6 billion cubic feet per day, the equivalent to approximately 18 million tons of LNG per year.
Daily gas production in the Haynesville region in early 2026 has averaged about 14.3 billion cubic feet, with Aethon accounting for 15%.
The purchase marks Mitsubishi’s entry into the U.S. shale gas business. Its investment in Aethon highlights a broader strategy adopted by Japanese energy companies to secure direct access to U.S. energy resources and build integrated value chains.
“This investment will not only strengthen the earnings base of Mitsubishi’s natural gas and LNG businesses but also accelerates efforts to build an integrated value chain in the United States – from upstream gas development to power generation, data center development, chemicals production, and related businesses,” the company said in a statement.
The deal comes a few months after JERA, Japan’s top power producer, announced a $1.5 billion acquisition of shale assets in the Louisiana Haynesville. Tokyo Gas, Osaka Gas and Mitsui have also moved to secure gas-producing properties in the Haynesville shale region in Louisiana and Texas in recent years.
In 2025, Japanese companies announced investments in U.S. shale assets totaling more than $8.5 billion, with heavy concentration in the Haynesville region because of the proximity to Gulf Coast LNG export terminals.
In October, President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi signed an agreement calling for investments totaling $550 billion to further revitalize the U.S. industrial base, with Mitsubishi Electric set for a commitment of up to $30 billion in a partnership to supply power station systems and equipment for data centers.
In September, Japan was granted a lower flat tariff rate of 15% on most U.S. imports after the country committed to developing strategic energy and industrial projects.
Mitsubishi is backed by Berkshire Hathaway, which holds more than 10% of the company’s shares.
Other Mitsubishi investments in North America include shale gas assets developed in a joint venture with Ovintiv in British Columbia, Canada; Houston-based midstream marketing and logistics firm CIMA Energy; the rights to 4 million tons per year of LNG liquefaction capacity at Cameron LNG in Louisiana; and Diamond Generating Corp., a Los Angeles-based energy management firm established by Mitsubishi in 1999 to manage its portfolio of utility-scale power projects in the U.S. and Mexico.
The Tokyo-based company’s eight business segments include Environmental Energy, Materials Solution, Mineral Resources, Urban Development and Infrastructure, Mobility, Food Industry, Smart-Life Creation and Power Solution.
Mitsubishi has also been linked to a potential investment in the Alaska LNG project, an initiative prioritized by the Trump administration.
Mitsubishi seeks to sell a 15% stake in LNG Canada, an export facility located on Canada’s Pacific Coast, with annual of capacity of 14 million tons, Reuters reported Friday. LNG Canada began exporting LNG in 2025.