EQT agrees to buy Intertek Group for $12.36 billion

Deal agreed

EQT has agreed to buy Intertek Group in an all-cash transaction valued at about £9.3 billion, or $12.36 billion, after a prolonged pursuit of the UK-listed testing, inspection and certification company.

The agreed cash price is £60 a share. Including Intertek’s 2025 final dividend of 107.70 pence per share, the total consideration rises to £61.077 a share and the valuation to about £9.5 billion.

The offer represents roughly a 38% premium to Intertek’s closing price on April 15, 2026, the day before EQT confirmed its approach.

How the bid developed

The transaction caps months of negotiations and three earlier rejected EQT bids. The first offers started at £51.50 a share and were raised in stages before the two sides reached agreement.

Intertek said on May 13 that it was likely to recommend EQT’s final takeover proposal if a formal offer was made. That earlier statement signaled that the board was moving closer to supporting a deal, but it stopped short of a final acceptance.

The first public confirmation that the board had agreed to recommend the transaction came on June 18, when the Financial Times reported the deal. Later the same day, The Wall Street Journal reported the transaction value at $12.36 billion and added detail on the premium and pricing.

The companies and the price

Intertek is a FTSE 100 company, so the takeover would remove another large UK-listed business from public markets if completed.

The company’s board is backing the deal after weighing the final terms against the earlier bids it had already turned down. The agreed structure gives shareholders a cash exit, rather than a mixture of cash and equity.

EQT said it plans to invest in Intertek through innovation, targeted mergers and acquisitions, and international expansion. Intertek chief executive André Lacroix also publicly backed the transaction as a growth partnership.

Reporting on the deal described EQT as investing alongside Abu Dhabi sovereign investors, including Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Mubadala.

Why it matters

For Intertek shareholders, the key question now is whether the cash offer and dividend-inclusive value are enough to win approval.

For the London market, the deal adds to a broader pattern of private-equity interest in UK-listed companies. Intertek is another prominent public company potentially leaving the market after a drawn-out approach from a buyer with access to substantial capital.

The transaction also serves as another signal that UK valuations continue to attract buyout interest, particularly where a bidder believes it can support growth through private ownership and longer-term investment.

What happens next

The deal still requires shareholder approval before it can move toward completion.

If shareholders back the transaction, customary regulatory and closing steps will follow. The exact timetable for the vote and completion has not yet been fully disclosed.

Further reporting may clarify the final financing split, the role of any co-investors and the expected closing schedule.