London, April 27, 2026, 12:07 BST
Shares in Intertek Group plc slipped Monday after the UK-based testing firm turned down EQT’s sweetened £54-a-share bid, keeping the market in bid limbo without a concrete offer on the table. By 11:47 BST, the stock had dropped 1.75% to 4,726p, according to Sharecast.
Intertek’s board late Friday shot down the unsolicited, indicative, and conditional proposal, calling it “fundamentally undervalued.” Directors said the rejection was both “unanimous and unequivocal.” EQT now faces a deadline: by 5 p.m. on May 14, it must declare whether it intends to move forward with a formal bid or walk away. Investegate
The current market price lags the proposed £54 per share offer, and that gap’s telling. Investors don’t seem to see the bid as a sure thing just yet. Intertek’s board, for its part, is urging shareholders to hold off until after a strategic review—one that could take a while to deliver results.
Intertek kicked off a review this month, weighing either a sale or a demerger of its Energy & Infrastructure division. The company wants to sharpen its focus on the Testing & Assurance segment. For the first quarter, Intertek delivered 5.4% like-for-like revenue growth—measuring sales on a comparable basis—and reaffirmed its full-year outlook. Chief Executive André Lacroix said, “two specialist scale global ATIC businesses could be best positioned to accelerate growth.” Intertek
Reuters said EQT’s latest offer put Intertek’s value at roughly £8.3 billion, or $11.22 billion. That came after Intertek turned down an earlier pitch of £51.50 per share. Shares in Intertek jumped up to 5.5% after the higher bid surfaced last week, but ended Friday at £48.10.
Intertek doesn’t have much name recognition, yet its business reaches deep into global supply chains. The company’s focus is ATIC — assurance, testing, inspection and certification. Translation: making sure products, services, and systems are up to scratch on quality, safety, and compliance.
The group operates across energy, construction, healthcare, food, transport, and retail—so it’s not tied to a single end-market. That reach brings exposure to regulation, shifting product safety standards, and the push and pull of global trade flows.
The takeover attempt has reignited questions about Intertek’s breakup value versus staying intact. Following EQT’s initial move, Panmure Liberum’s Joe Brent flagged the possibility that “other possible bidders may emerge.” He also suggested the offer could be pushing Intertek’s demerger scheme higher up the agenda, describing it as another way to unlock value. Reuters
Jefferies analysts, quoted by Sharecast, suggested it would take at least a 5% to 10% bump over the rejected bid to even get consideration. Their sum-of-the-parts numbers? Bullish estimates land between 4,700p and 6,400p, making it clear why some shareholders might opt for cash right now, while others hang back for the review outcome.
The competitive landscape is in motion, though hardly straightforward. Intertek’s major competitors, SGS and Bureau Veritas, walked away from merger discussions last year—a $30 billion tie-up that never materialized after the two sides couldn’t come to terms. The failed deal is a reminder that while consolidation in testing and certification is tempting on paper, it’s tough to pull off in practice.
No guarantee EQT circles back. The private equity firm might bump up its offer, stick with the current price in a formal bid, or simply exit the process. Intertek now faces the challenge of proving to investors that breaking up or selling the company could yield a better return than the cash bid it’s fielding. Shares are set to reflect that tug-of-war up to May 14.
