London’s public equity market is facing another potential major exit as Intertek’s board said it is minded to recommend a £10.6 billion takeover proposal from Swedish private equity firm EQT, according to The Guardian. The proposal is priced at £60 per share, valuing the FTSE 100 testing company at £9.4 billion excluding debt and topping prior approaches of £51, £54, and £58 per share.
The potential acquisition would add to a series of large takeovers targeting UK-listed companies this year, following agreed deals for insurer Beazley and fund manager Schroders. It also comes as Gamma Communications has drawn preliminary buyout interest from Providence Equity Partners, according to The Guardian.
Intertek had recently begun a strategic review to evaluate a sale or demerger of its £1.6 billion energy and infrastructure division from its £1.9 billion consumer product-testing business. The company has paused that review while EQT conducts due diligence, with the proposed transaction still subject to a formal offer.
Several investors had pushed Intertek to engage with EQT, including Palliser Capital, Harris Associates, PrimeStone Capital, and Lost Coast Collective, which owns 1.2% of the company and is managed by Matt Peltz. In a letter to the board, Lost Coast said the market did not appear to believe management could execute a partial sale and operational fix.
EQT, founded in 1994 as a spinout from Wallenberg family holding company Investor AB, now has a conditional path toward one of the latest large take-private deals aimed at the London Stock Exchange.
