Forest Oil Corp., Denver, (NYSE: FST) has closed its acquisition of The Houston Exploration Co., Houston, (NYSE: THX) for $1.5 billion in cash and stock and will assume net debt estimated at $100 million. Forest worked with New York-based Jana Partners LLC, which holds 14.7% of outstanding Houston Exploration shares. Jana has agreed to not propose any extraordinary transactions with Forest or seek to influence the management or control of Forest for a year following the deal's closing. The Houston Exploration assets are in South Texas, East Texas, the Arkoma Basin of Arkansas and Oklahoma and the Uinta and D-J basins in the Rockies. Production is 205 million cubic feet of gas equivalent per day, and proved reserves are approximately 655 billion cubic feet equivalent. Forest now has estimated proved reserves of approximately 2 trillion cubic feet equivalent (approximately 69% proved developed, approximately 70% gas).