Swedish Private equity giant EQT has held talks with Intertek Group over a potential acquisition of the FTSE 100 company, just as the British testing and certification group announced it is considering splitting itself in two – with EQT understood to have its own vision for how that separation should unfold.
Intertek Group sent shockwaves through the market this week after announcing a strategic review to evaluate whether to split itself into two separate businesses- Intertek Testing & Assurance and Intertek Energy & Infrastructure – sending shares surging by as much as 14%. It can now be reported that EQT, one of Europe’s largest and most active buyout firms, has already held discussions with the group over a potential offer to acquire Intertek Group in it’s entirety and take it off the public markets.
The talks signal that private equity moved ahead of the company’s own public announcement, with EQT understood to have developed a clear thesis for how the business should be separated.
