LONDON, June 27, 2026, 22:05 BST
- Intertek closed Friday at 5,810p, still 190p under EQT’s outstanding £60-a-share cash bid after the last day for the final dividend.
- The shares ended up 0.35% Friday. FTSE 100 dropped 0.21%. The week was muted after the initial takeover spike.
- New filings from BlackRock and Schroders show active trading on the bid spread, but no sign of a fresh operating catalyst.
Intertek Group plc (LON:ITRK) became a takeover-spread name after EQT AB STO:EQT, a Swedish private equity firm, said it would buy the testing and inspection company. The market in London had already closed for the weekend, so Friday’s close at 5,810p—up 20p or 0.35%—is the price investors have to work from.
The key figure isn’t the £61.077 headline value anymore. Intertek’s 107.7p final dividend was set for June 24, payable to shareholders of record as of May 29. For buyers today, the cash part is £60, which put shares at Friday’s close 190p under the cash offer. That’s a 3.2% discount to the payout, or 3.3% gross upside if the deal closes at £60.
Intertek shares didn’t move much this week. The stock stuck to around 58 pounds, closing at 5,805p on June 19 and 5,810p on June 26. The price action suggests investors are getting paid for waiting, procedural risks and the vote, not for any new earnings shock.
EQT’s Isotope Bidco will pay £60 a share in cash for Intertek and let eligible holders keep the 107.7p FY25 final dividend. That puts the company’s share capital around £9.3 billion based on cash, or about £9.5 billion when counting the dividend. The implied enterprise value is roughly £10.9 billion on that basis.
The board approved the deal. Intertek CEO André Lacroix called the offer “cash certainty today” for shareholders. Matthias Wittkowski, global head of services at EQT Private Equity, said EQT has “admired the business for a long time.” The terms are final except if there’s a competing offer or Takeover Panel agreement. Investegate
The spread faces a big list of hurdles. The deal needs the go-ahead from most voting scheme holders by number, and holders of at least 75% in value of shares voted. There’s also a needed 75% approval for the special resolution. The offer document sets out merger-control and foreign-investment requirements in markets like China, the EU, the UK and the US.
Reuters said last week the deal would be the third-biggest private equity take-private in Britain, citing LSEG data. Morningstar Inc NASDAQ:MORN analyst Ben Slupecki told Reuters Intertek was a good fit because its assets were undervalued before EQT made its moves. Palliser Capital founder James Smith called it a “positive outcome for shareholders.” Reuters
Intertek filings dominated the last two days, more than business headlines. BlackRock Inc NYSE:BLK reported a 10.43% stake in Intertek, or 16.1 million shares, as of June 24, along with short positions on 511,485 shares, or 0.33%. It also said it sold 608,582 shares at £58.0025.
Schroders plc (LON:SDR) reported holding 2.21 million shares, or about 1.425%, as of June 25. A filing showed it sold 17,050 shares at £58.00 and bought 376 at £58.05. The trades are right near the level where the stock has been moving since the deal went public.
Valuation isn’t cheap by recent earnings. Intertek’s 2025 adjusted diluted EPS hit 253.5p, making the £60-per-share offer about 23.7x that. Counting the retained dividend in the total agreed value, the multiple gets to about 24.1x. Intertek put up 2025 revenue of £3.43 billion and adjusted operating profit of £620 million.
Intertek’s scheme paper and disclosure tape are the main dated items to watch in the coming week. The scheme document needs to be out within 28 days of the June 18 announcement unless they agree to move it back. Meetings are penciled in by Aug. 6, with completion eyed for either the fourth quarter of 2026 or first of 2027. Intertek’s next results come July 31, when it reports half-year numbers.
