Key Takeaways
- • Intertek's board is "minded to recommend" a £10.6bn takeover bid from Swedish private equity firm EQT at £60 per share, contingent on a formal offer being made to shareholders for a vote.
- • EQT's bid values Intertek at £10.6bn including debt (£9.4bn equity value), representing a significant premium over three previously rejected approaches priced at £58, £54, and £51 per share.
- • The acquisition marks the latest major FTSE 100 exit this year, following comparable multibillion-pound takeovers of insurer Beazley and fund manager Schroders, reflecting sustained M&A momentum in the index.
- • EQT, founded in 1994 as a Wallenberg family spinout from Investor AB, operates an estimated $40bn business empire and emphasizes "responsible ownership" through its stated philosophy of providing "More than capital."
- • Intertek, a 141-year-old London-headquartered testing and certification company with 45,000 employees and over 1,000 laboratories globally, initiated a strategic review one month prior to receiving the formal bid approach.
Summary
Intertek, the FTSE 100-listed laboratory testing and certification business, has agreed in principle to accept a £10.6bn acquisition offer from EQT, the Swedish private equity firm controlled by the billionaire Wallenberg family. The company's board announced on Wednesday that it was "minded to recommend" the all-cash bid of £60 per share to shareholders, provided EQT formalizes its approach. The equity value of the transaction stands at £9.4bn, with the total enterprise value rising to £10.6bn when including assumed debt.
The recommended bid price represents a meaningful escalation from three previous takeover approaches that Intertek's board rejected outright. Those earlier bids were structured at £51, £54, and £58 per share respectively, signaling sustained and increasing pressure from EQT to acquire the company. Market response was immediate, with Intertek's share price climbing nearly 7% to £56.65 on the announcement, reflecting investor appetite for the transaction at the current valuation.
EQT, established in 1994 as a direct spinout from Investor AB—the holding vehicle for the Wallenberg family's diversified business interests—has built an investment platform with an estimated enterprise value of $40bn (£29.6bn). The firm's corporate philosophy centers on "More than capital," a framing intended to distinguish its approach from traditional financial engineering. Intertek initiated a formal strategic review approximately one month before receiving EQT's latest bid, and the board has stated it remains "highly confident in Intertek's standalone strategy and the value creation opportunity" outlined in that internal assessment, while simultaneously moving toward the transaction recommendation.
The proposed acquisition continues a notable wave of FTSE 100 privatizations in 2026, with comparable exits including the £2.6bn acquisition of insurer Beazley and the substantial bid for fund manager Schroders. Intertek, which traces its operational heritage to 1885 when it began certifying grain cargoes for maritime transport, operates 1,000-plus laboratory locations globally and employs 45,000 staff. The London-headquartered company listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2002 and joined the FTSE 100 in 2009, making it a major institutional holding at the time of the bid.
Final approval of the transaction will require shareholder ratification once EQT formalizes its offer documentation, a procedural step the board has now signaled it will actively support.
The recommended bid price represents a meaningful escalation from three previous takeover approaches that Intertek's board rejected outright. Those earlier bids were structured at £51, £54, and £58 per share respectively, signaling sustained and increasing pressure from EQT to acquire the company. Market response was immediate, with Intertek's share price climbing nearly 7% to £56.65 on the announcement, reflecting investor appetite for the transaction at the current valuation.
EQT, established in 1994 as a direct spinout from Investor AB—the holding vehicle for the Wallenberg family's diversified business interests—has built an investment platform with an estimated enterprise value of $40bn (£29.6bn). The firm's corporate philosophy centers on "More than capital," a framing intended to distinguish its approach from traditional financial engineering. Intertek initiated a formal strategic review approximately one month before receiving EQT's latest bid, and the board has stated it remains "highly confident in Intertek's standalone strategy and the value creation opportunity" outlined in that internal assessment, while simultaneously moving toward the transaction recommendation.
The proposed acquisition continues a notable wave of FTSE 100 privatizations in 2026, with comparable exits including the £2.6bn acquisition of insurer Beazley and the substantial bid for fund manager Schroders. Intertek, which traces its operational heritage to 1885 when it began certifying grain cargoes for maritime transport, operates 1,000-plus laboratory locations globally and employs 45,000 staff. The London-headquartered company listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2002 and joined the FTSE 100 in 2009, making it a major institutional holding at the time of the bid.
Final approval of the transaction will require shareholder ratification once EQT formalizes its offer documentation, a procedural step the board has now signaled it will actively support.
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