EQT's $11 Billion Buyout Bid Rejected by U.K. Testing Specialist Intertek — Update

By Nina Kienle

Britain's Intertek Group said it rejected an unsolicited takeover approach from Swedish buyout group EQT, arguing a 7.93 billion-pound ($10.76 billion) proposal undervalued the company.

Intertek, which provides testing, inspection and certification services, said Thursday that EQT submitted an unsolicited proposal for an acquisition, but that its board rejected it.

The company said the approach valued it at 51.50 pounds a share in cash, or an 18% premium to its closing price on Wednesday. The proposal values the company as a whole at 7.93 billion pounds, based on share-count data provided by FactSet.

Shares in Intertek jumped after EQT disclosed its approach, and were up 12% at 49 pounds in European afternoon trading.

"The board of Intertek carefully reviewed EQT's proposal with its advisers and unanimously concluded that it fundamentally undervalues Intertek and its future prospects," the company said.

EQT earlier said it had submitted an acquisition proposal to Intertek, without disclosing financial details, and added it was considering its options after its indicative bid was rejected.

There is no certainty that a new offer will be made, the private-equity company added.

News of EQT's approach comes after Intertek said on Tuesday that it had launched a strategic review to evaluate a potential split of its Intertek Energy & Infrastructure from the rest of its operations through a sale or demerger. The company also appointed Steve Mogford to succeed Andrew Martin as board chairman.

Intertek's filing on the EQT approach said its board received the proposal last week and rejected it on Monday.

Two of Intertek's biggest rivals, Switzerland's SGS and France's Bureau Veritas, discussed a possible merger last year, but ended up abandoning it.

At the time, both SGS and Bureau Veritas said they saw merit in the consolidation of the testing, inspection and certification sector, but that their talks didn't result in an agreement. Executives of the two companies later said they would focus on smaller deals instead.

SGS, Bureau Veritas and Intertek frequently buy smaller rivals to add new services to their portfolios or expand to new markets. Earlier on Thursday, Intertek said it acquired a solar photovoltaic laboratory in India from Mitsui Chemicals.

Shares in SGS and Bureau Veritas also rose after the approach for Intertek was disclosed.

Write to Nina Kienle at nina.kienle@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 16, 2026 10:16 ET (14:16 GMT)