1656 ET - Expand Energy's recently announced $1.25 billion acquisition of natural-gas supplier Twin Eagle from private-equity firm Five Point Infrastructure will increase the publicly traded energy company's access to critical assets without substantial capital outlays, says Gabriele Sorbara, a senior equity analyst at financial-services firm Siebert Williams Shank. Sorbara points to Twin Eagle's contractual rights to use third-party pipelines and storage tanks. "They're not really acquiring many assets from Twin Eagle," he says of Houston-based Expand Energy. "But it has improved their margins." He compares the approach with that of larger natural-gas producers such as EQT Corp., which about two years ago reacquired pipeline operator Equitrans Midstream in a roughly $5.5 billion deal. "Expand is doing it a little bit differently with Twin Eagle," Sorbara adds. "It's really asset-light."