Key Takeaways
- • EQT Private Equity, an entity indirectly controlled by EQT's EQT XI fund, agreed to acquire Qiagen for €10.8 billion (about $12.1 billion) in cash, taking the global life-sciences tools and diagnostics provider private.
- • The €46.50 ($51.88) per-share offer represents an 8.6% premium to Qiagen's Wednesday close and a 40.3% premium to the XETRA close of €33.15 on July 8, the last trading day before private equity interest was reported.
- • Co-investors Luxinva (a wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority) and CPP Investment Board Europe (CPP Investments) hold indirect stakes within EQT Private Equity.
- • The enterprise value includes approximately $1.1 billion of net debt; Qiagen has suspended its full-year guidance, and closing is expected in mid-2027, subject to a 50% minimum acceptance threshold and regulatory clearances.
- • The deal ends a nearly seven-year cycle of on-and-off takeover attempts, including Thermo Fisher's collapsed $12.5 billion offer in 2020.
Summary
An entity of Swedish private equity firm EQT has agreed to acquire Qiagen for €10.8 billion (about $12.1 billion) in cash, both companies said. The transaction would take private the global life-sciences tools, diagnostics, and workflow solutions provider following on-and-off takeover attempts over nearly seven years. The buyer, EQT Private Equity, is indirectly controlled by the EQT XI fund and managed by affiliates of EQT, which reports €354 billion in assets under management. Co-investors Luxinva, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, and CPP Investment Board Europe, a wholly owned subsidiary of CPP Investments, hold indirect participations within EQT Private Equity.
Qiagen said its Supervisory and Managing Boards reached the decision after a comprehensive strategic review that included discussions with strategic and financial parties. The boards concluded that a buyout would offer the best prospects for the company's next growth phase by providing greater flexibility for long-term investment under private ownership while delivering shareholders attractive and certain cash value. Stephen H. Rusckowski, chairman of Qiagen's Supervisory Board, said the boards 'unanimously concluded that this is the best path forward.' Matteo Thun-Hohenstein, Partner at EQT, said the firm brings sector experience, a global network and operational capabilities. The strategic review had first emerged in January through a Bloomberg News report citing unnamed sources.
The offer price of €46.50 ($51.88) per share represents an 8.6% premium to Qiagen's Wednesday closing price, and a 40.3% premium to the XETRA close of €33.15 on July 8, the last trading day before reports of private equity interest. The premium rises to 46.9% against the three-month VWAP on XETRA of €31.66. The enterprise value of €10.8 billion ($12.1 billion) includes approximately $1.1 billion of net debt. Shares reacted cautiously on Thursday: XETRA shares rose 5% to €44.94, while NYSE shares barely moved, rising 0.6% to $50.32 intraday. Qiagen had earlier cut its 2026 guidance, lowering net sales growth to 1-2% and adjusted diluted EPS to $2.43, following a 5% constant-currency sales decline in its QuantiFERON test kit. The company has suspended its full-year guidance due to the planned acquisition.
EQT says its healthcare and life sciences platform includes around 100 investment professionals across 15 countries and has invested over €30 billion (about $33.6 billion) across more than 210 healthcare companies. Its prior deals include the 2019 majority investment in Aldevron, sold to Danaher for about $9.6 billion, and the 2021 acquisition of Parexel with Goldman Sachs' private equity business for $8.5 billion. EQT Private Equity said it has obtained committed equity and debt financing to fund the offer, with Morgan Stanley, Jefferies, Deutsche Bank, SMBC, Crédit Agricole, and UniCredit acting as bookrunners and mandated lead arrangers.
The Business Combination Agreement includes commitments on Qiagen's strategy, key brands, operational footprint, R&D, employee arrangements, and financing. The transaction is expected to close in mid-2027, and Qiagen will continue to operate under its own name. The offer is subject to a minimum acceptance threshold of 50% of outstanding share capital plus one share, merger control and foreign investment clearances, and other conditions. If closing has not occurred by August 21, 2027 due to pending regulatory approvals, Qiagen may pay an interim dividend of up to $0.47 per share. The boards will recommend shareholders tender their shares once the offer document is published.
The deal concludes a long history of takeover interest. In March 2020, Thermo Fisher Scientific offered about $11.5 billion, later raised to $12.5 billion, but terminated the offer after failing to reach the two-thirds acceptance threshold, with only 47% of shares tendered amid opposition from activist hedge fund Davidson Kempner. In 2022, The Wall Street Journal reported talks with Bio-Rad Laboratories, which neither company confirmed.
Qiagen said its Supervisory and Managing Boards reached the decision after a comprehensive strategic review that included discussions with strategic and financial parties. The boards concluded that a buyout would offer the best prospects for the company's next growth phase by providing greater flexibility for long-term investment under private ownership while delivering shareholders attractive and certain cash value. Stephen H. Rusckowski, chairman of Qiagen's Supervisory Board, said the boards 'unanimously concluded that this is the best path forward.' Matteo Thun-Hohenstein, Partner at EQT, said the firm brings sector experience, a global network and operational capabilities. The strategic review had first emerged in January through a Bloomberg News report citing unnamed sources.
The offer price of €46.50 ($51.88) per share represents an 8.6% premium to Qiagen's Wednesday closing price, and a 40.3% premium to the XETRA close of €33.15 on July 8, the last trading day before reports of private equity interest. The premium rises to 46.9% against the three-month VWAP on XETRA of €31.66. The enterprise value of €10.8 billion ($12.1 billion) includes approximately $1.1 billion of net debt. Shares reacted cautiously on Thursday: XETRA shares rose 5% to €44.94, while NYSE shares barely moved, rising 0.6% to $50.32 intraday. Qiagen had earlier cut its 2026 guidance, lowering net sales growth to 1-2% and adjusted diluted EPS to $2.43, following a 5% constant-currency sales decline in its QuantiFERON test kit. The company has suspended its full-year guidance due to the planned acquisition.
EQT says its healthcare and life sciences platform includes around 100 investment professionals across 15 countries and has invested over €30 billion (about $33.6 billion) across more than 210 healthcare companies. Its prior deals include the 2019 majority investment in Aldevron, sold to Danaher for about $9.6 billion, and the 2021 acquisition of Parexel with Goldman Sachs' private equity business for $8.5 billion. EQT Private Equity said it has obtained committed equity and debt financing to fund the offer, with Morgan Stanley, Jefferies, Deutsche Bank, SMBC, Crédit Agricole, and UniCredit acting as bookrunners and mandated lead arrangers.
The Business Combination Agreement includes commitments on Qiagen's strategy, key brands, operational footprint, R&D, employee arrangements, and financing. The transaction is expected to close in mid-2027, and Qiagen will continue to operate under its own name. The offer is subject to a minimum acceptance threshold of 50% of outstanding share capital plus one share, merger control and foreign investment clearances, and other conditions. If closing has not occurred by August 21, 2027 due to pending regulatory approvals, Qiagen may pay an interim dividend of up to $0.47 per share. The boards will recommend shareholders tender their shares once the offer document is published.
The deal concludes a long history of takeover interest. In March 2020, Thermo Fisher Scientific offered about $11.5 billion, later raised to $12.5 billion, but terminated the offer after failing to reach the two-thirds acceptance threshold, with only 47% of shares tendered amid opposition from activist hedge fund Davidson Kempner. In 2022, The Wall Street Journal reported talks with Bio-Rad Laboratories, which neither company confirmed.
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