Intertek Group (LSE:ITRK) has rejected EQT's further revised unsolicited proposal of £58.00 per share in cash and said the approach significantly undervalues the company and has material execution risk.
Intertek, the Total Quality Assurance provider, said the £58 proposal followed earlier unsolicited offers of £51.50 and £54.00 per share which the Board had already rejected.
The Board said it remains focused on maximising shareholder value and reaffirmed the Strategic Review announced on 14 April to evaluate a potential separation of Intertek Energy & Infrastructure from Intertek Testing & Assurance.
The Board believes a separation could create two high-quality global ATIC businesses, with Intertek Testing & Assurance representing c.£1.9bn of turnover and Intertek Energy & Infrastructure c.£1.6bn, each able to pursue sharper capital allocation and faster in‑market execution.
Intertek said it is prioritising a sale-led process and has already received an encouraging level of interest from potential buyers of Intertek Energy & Infrastructure.
Preliminary work on costs, tax and financing indicates the Board expects any one-off separation costs and value leakage to be modest given the group's decentralised operating model.
The Board targets concluding and implementing the Strategic Review by the middle of 2027.
Under the Takeover Code EQT must either announce a firm intention to make an offer or confirm it will not do so by 5.00pm on 14 May.
