Regency Energy Partners to buy PVR Partners for $5.6 billion

Natural gas pipeline operator Regency Energy Partners LP will buy rival PVR Partners LP for $5.6 billion, including debt, giving it a foothold in the prolific Marcellus and Utica shale fields.

The deal includes the assumption of $1.8 billion in debt, the companies said.

(Reporting by Swetha Gopinath in Bangalore; Editing by Don Sebastian)