London, April 25, 2026, 22:05 BST
- Intertek rejected EQT’s revised £54-a-share cash approach, saying it still undervalued the FTSE 100 testing group.
- EQT has until May 14 to make a firm offer or walk away under the UK Takeover Code.
- The bid fight comes as Intertek reviews a possible split of its testing-and-assurance arm from its energy-and-infrastructure business.
Intertek Group plc rejected a sweetened £8.3 billion takeover approach from Sweden’s EQT AB, saying the private equity firm’s £54-a-share cash proposal still undervalued the London-listed testing and certification company. The board “unanimously and unequivocally” rejected the revised offer on Friday after receiving it on April 21, a regulatory filing showed. Investegate
The decision starts the next phase of the bid contest. EQT now has until 5 p.m. London time on May 14 to announce a firm intention to bid or say it will not proceed, unless the UK Takeover Panel extends the deadline.
That matters because Intertek is trying to sell investors on its own route to higher value at the same time a financial buyer is circling. EQT’s revised bid followed an earlier £51.50-a-share proposal, also rejected, and Reuters calculated that the new proposal valued Intertek at £8.3 billion, or $11.22 billion.
Intertek shares closed down 0.7% at 4,810 pence in London on Friday, according to Alliance News, leaving EQT’s latest proposal at about a 12% premium to the closing price. The stock had risen as much as 5.5% after the sweetened approach was disclosed earlier in the week.
Intertek operates in the ATIC market — assurance, testing, inspection and certification — where companies pay specialists to check whether products, supply chains and industrial sites meet safety, quality and regulatory standards. The company says it has more than 1,000 laboratories and offices in more than 100 countries.
The takeover approach landed just after Intertek launched a strategic review to consider separating Intertek Testing & Assurance from Intertek Energy & Infrastructure, either through a sale or a demerger. Intertek said those businesses generated about £1.9 billion and £1.6 billion of 2025 revenue, respectively.
Chief Executive André Lacroix said earlier this month that two specialist global ATIC businesses could be better placed to “accelerate growth and deliver greater value for shareholders.” The company said the review would be concluded and implemented by the middle of 2027. Intertek
The operating case has not disappeared in the takeover noise. Intertek said first-quarter like-for-like revenue, an organic sales measure, rose 5.4% at constant currency, which strips out exchange-rate swings. It also reiterated full-year guidance for mid-single-digit like-for-like revenue growth, continued margin progress and strong free cash flow.
The shareholder register is also getting attention. Matt Peltz’s Lost Coast Collective built a stake of more than 1%, worth over £87 million, in Intertek, Reuters reported, citing a public filing; the fund told the Financial Times it backed the board’s rejection of the initial EQT bid as “way below intrinsic value.” Reuters
Analysts have framed the split review as part of Intertek’s defence. Panmure Liberum analyst Joe Brent wrote after the first approach that “other possible bidders may emerge, from trade and private equity,” adding that the potential bid may have increased the urgency of the demerger plan. Reuters
The move has also put a sharper focus on the broader testing and certification sector. Shares in French peer Bureau Veritas rose as much as 3.6% when EQT’s interest in Intertek became clear, Reuters reported, as investors weighed whether assets in the sector could draw more interest.
The risk is simple: there may be no deal. Intertek’s filing said there can be no certainty that an offer will be made, or on what terms, and EQT did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment after the rejection. If EQT walks away, investors are left with the slower strategic-review path and the usual execution risk of separating a global business.
Goldman Sachs International and J.P. Morgan Cazenove are advising Intertek. For now, the next hard date is May 14.
