Patterson-UTI Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: PTEN) said Dec. 12 it would buy its smaller counterpart Seventy Seven Energy Inc. in an all-stock deal worth $1.76 billion including debt.

Seventy Seven shareholders will receive 1.7725 shares of Patterson-UTI for each share held, Patterson-UTI said.

The deal includes $336 million of Seventy Seven Energy's debt net of cash and warrant proceeds.

Patterson-UTI said it will issue about 49.6 million common shares for the deal and will pay off Seventy Seven's debt through a combination of cash on hand and its own credit.

Patterson-UTI will have more than 1.5 million hydraulic fracturing horsepower following the closing of the transaction, the U.S. driller said.

The company also expects to achieve $50 million in synergies from the deal, which is expected to add to its cash flow.

Seventy Seven Energy, which provides drilling and hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, services, had cut its debt by $1.1 billion and exited bankruptcy in early August under the control of its creditors.