London, May 8, 2026, 20:04 BST
Intertek Group plc rejected EQT’s third takeover approach, turning down a £58-a-share cash proposal that valued the British testing and inspection company at about £8.93 billion, or $12.12 billion. The FTSE 100 group said the offer undervalued the business and carried execution risk because it remained conditional.
The decision matters now because the dispute has moved from private approaches to a hard UK takeover deadline. EQT must either make a firm offer by 5 p.m. London time on May 14 or walk away, under the UK Takeover Code’s “put up or shut up” rule, which forces a bidder to declare its hand. Investegate
Intertek is asking investors to wait for its own break-up plan instead. The company is reviewing whether to sell or demerge Intertek Energy & Infrastructure from Intertek Testing & Assurance, arguing that two focused assurance, testing, inspection and certification businesses — known in the sector as ATIC — could create more value.
The market did not give the board a clean pass. Intertek shares closed down 2.7% at 4,910 pence in London, below EQT’s £58 cash proposal and the higher £59.077-per-share value that EQT says investors could receive if Intertek’s 2025 final dividend is approved.
EQT said its latest proposal was a step up from two earlier approaches, at £51.50 and £54.00 per share, both rejected by Intertek. Including the proposed final dividend of up to 107.7 pence, EQT said the revised approach implied a premium of up to 57% to Intertek’s April 9 closing price and up to 59% to its one-month volume-weighted average price, a measure of the average share price weighted by trading volume.
Intertek’s board said it had reviewed the proposal with advisers and “unanimously and unequivocally” rejected it. The company said it was prioritising a sale-led review process and had received an “encouraging level of interest” from potential buyers for the Energy & Infrastructure unit. Investegate
The split case rests on sharply different profit profiles. Intertek said Testing & Assurance generated £1.84 billion of revenue and £460.8 million of operating profit in 2025, a 25% margin, while Energy & Infrastructure produced £1.59 billion of revenue and £158.8 million of operating profit, a 10% margin.
Chief Executive André Lacroix framed the review last month as a way to create “two specialist, independent, market-leading, global ATIC businesses.” Intertek also reported first-quarter revenue of £838.5 million, up 6.7% at constant currency, while like-for-like revenue, a measure of underlying sales, rose 5.4%. Investegate
EQT pushed back. The Swedish buyout firm said it was disappointed by the board’s “lack of engagement” and argued that its proposal offered “certain and accelerated cash value” compared with the range of outcomes under Intertek’s standalone plan. Investegate
Some shareholders may not be finished with the matter. Bloomberg reported that PineStone Asset Management, described as Intertek’s third-biggest shareholder with a roughly 4% stake, had written to the board urging it to open talks with EQT.
Analysts have split the question into price and patience. Panmure Liberum analyst Joe Brent said he was surprised by the stock’s discount to the bid and added: “A further bid from EQT or others is possible.” Jefferies analysts said any improved offer may need to be 5% to 10% above the latest rejected approach to win board support. Reuters
The sector backdrop helps explain why the asset is in play. SGS and Bureau Veritas, two larger testing and certification peers, explored a merger last year that Reuters said would have created a company worth more than $30 billion and dwarfed rivals including Intertek and Eurofins, though SGS later said those talks ended without an agreement.
But there is a clear risk for Intertek holders. EQT may not bid, rival buyers for Energy & Infrastructure may not pay the board’s hoped-for price, and the review is not due to be concluded and implemented until the middle of 2027. Brent also warned that, in a break-up scenario, Intertek’s share price could be £44 or less.
The next two dates are now central: May 14 for EQT’s bid-or-walk deadline, and May 20 for Intertek’s annual meeting, where shareholders are due to vote on the final dividend that EQT has folded into its value pitch.
