The revised proposal, EQT's third since April, represents a 54 per cent premium to Intertek's undisturbed closing price of £37.70 on 9 April, according to the company's regulatory filing. Intertek (LSE: ITRK) shares rose 7.4 per cent to £51.61 in morning trading on Tuesday, as reported by City AM, though they remain well below the offer price, suggesting the market sees completion as uncertain.

For the thousands of mid-market manufacturers, food producers and construction firms that rely on Intertek's testing, inspection and certification (TIC) work, the outcome matters beyond the share register. Whether the company ends up in private equity hands or splits itself in two, the structure of a critical supply-chain service provider is in play.

Three bids and counting: the escalating offer

EQT's pursuit of Intertek has moved in deliberate steps. The first approach, at £51.50 per share, was rejected by the board. A second, at £54, met the same fate. Both were dismissed on the grounds that they "fundamentally undervalue Intertek and its future prospects," according to statements from the company.

The latest bid of £58 per share in cash values the group at approximately £8.9bn. EQT said the offer delivers "certain and accelerated cash value" for shareholders, "superior to the range of outcomes" from Intertek's standalone prospects, according to its public statement.

Yet the board's resistance has a clear numerical anchor. Intertek's all-time share-price high sits above £58, a fact that gives directors cover to argue the company is worth more than EQT is prepared to pay. The stock traded above £70 as recently as 2021, according to London Stock Exchange data.

Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, noted the tension directly:

"The £58 per share cash offer may look attractive to investors. However, this is below the all-time highs for the shares and if a deal gets over the line, it will further diminish the breadth and depth of UK plc."

Intertek confirmed in its filing that "there is no certainty" an agreement will be reached. The Takeover Code's put-up-or-shut-up deadline will eventually force EQT to make a formal offer or walk away, but for now the Swedish firm appears willing to keep raising its price.

EQT's growing appetite for UK assets

The Intertek bid does not sit in isolation. EQT has been assembling a portfolio of UK assets at a pace that signals a deliberate London-market strategy.

In January 2026, the firm agreed to acquire global secondaries specialist Coller Capital for £2.7bn. EQT's chief executive, Per Franzen, called the deal "an important step," as reported by City AM. In March 2026, its Active Core Infrastructure fund agreed to acquire a 42 per cent stake in the parent company of Yorkshire Water. And in 2025, an EQT-led consortium completed the acquisition of international private school operator Nord Anglia Education in a deal valued at £1.1bn.

The pattern is familiar. Overseas private equity firms have been drawn to London-listed companies trading at discounts to their US or European peers. Sterling valuations, relatively light poison-pill defences and a regulatory environment that rarely blocks foreign takeovers on national-interest grounds have made the UK market fertile ground.

For policymakers concerned about the shrinking depth of UK public markets, each take-private removes a constituent from indices that pension funds and retail investors track. Intertek is a FTSE 100 member. Its departure would follow a string of recent delistings that have narrowed the pool of investable large-cap equities on the London Stock Exchange.

What a take-private means for Intertek's customers

Intertek operates across more than 100 countries, providing testing, inspection and certification services to sectors ranging from consumer goods and chemicals to energy and construction, according to the company's most recent annual report. Its client base includes multinational corporations, but also a long tail of mid-market firms that use Intertek to certify products for export, verify supply-chain compliance or meet regulatory standards.

Private equity ownership typically brings a focus on margin expansion and capital efficiency. In the TIC sector, that can translate into several operational shifts.

Pricing and service scope

Cost discipline under PE ownership could lead to rationalisation of lower-margin service lines. For smaller clients, that might mean fewer bespoke testing options or longer turnaround times as resources concentrate on higher-value contracts. Alternatively, PE investment could accelerate digital testing platforms that reduce costs for all customers.

Divisional restructuring

EQT's statement referenced Intertek's "future prospects" in broad terms, but PE buyers frequently restructure acquisitions by selling non-core divisions. Businesses that rely on a specific Intertek division, such as its commodities testing arm or its consumer goods certification unit, could find their service provider under new ownership within months of a deal closing.

Sector consolidation

The TIC industry is already consolidating. Bureau Veritas and SGS completed their merger in 2023, creating the sector's largest player. A PE-owned Intertek could become either a platform for bolt-on acquisitions or, eventually, a candidate for re-sale to a strategic buyer. Either path changes the competitive dynamics for customers negotiating contracts.

Break-up or buyout: the board's two paths

Intertek's board has not simply rejected EQT's approaches; it has offered an alternative vision. Last month, the company launched a strategic review that includes a potential demerger into two separate divisions, according to its regulatory filing.

The logic behind a break-up rests on the argument that Intertek's conglomerate structure obscures the value of its individual businesses. A standalone products division and a standalone trade division, for instance, could each attract higher valuation multiples than the combined group commands today. Demergers in other sectors, notably the split of GSK and Haleon in 2022, have been used to unlock precisely this kind of hidden value.

For customers, a demerger carries its own risks. Shared infrastructure, cross-selling arrangements and integrated IT systems would need to be separated. During the transition, service disruption is possible. On the other hand, two focused businesses might invest more aggressively in their respective markets than a single diversified group would.

The board's calculation appears to be that a break-up, executed on its own timeline, can deliver more value to shareholders than EQT's cash offer, while keeping at least part of the business listed in London. Whether shareholders agree will depend on the detail of the strategic review, expected within the coming months.

In the meantime, the firms that send products to Intertek's laboratories every week have little choice but to watch and wait. The testing still needs to be done. The question is who will own the equipment.