Intertek has agreed to a takeover offer from the Swedish private equity firm, EQT, for an enterprise value of £10.7bn.

The offer for the FTSE 100 product testing and certification company comprises £60 in cash per Intertek share and £1.07 per share as a final dividend payment.

The FT has reported that this is set to be one of the biggest takeovers in the UK.

The deal comes after EQT made several offers for Intertek in recent weeks. These were rejected by the certification firm, which said that the proposals "undervalued" the company and its future prospects.

However, the directors of Intertek said the latest offer is "fair and reasonable", and it intends to unanimously recommend that shareholders vote in favour of the scheme.

Following the update, shares in Intertek increased by 1.5%, following a 25% jump in the last six months.

CEO at Intertek, André Lacroix, stated: "Over the past decade, Intertek has become a true world leader in the Quality Assurance industry, implementing our AAA growth strategy over the last three years to deliver a strong operational and financial performance, delivering market leading operating profit margin and margin progression. We have a differentiated, high-quality portfolio with leading scale positions in attractive industries, poised for strong growth going forward.

"This offer represents an attractive opportunity for Intertek shareholders by delivering cash certainty today, and we are confident that Intertek will continue to thrive in the industry - capitalising on its stellar track record and its science-based customer excellence competitive advantage, operating on its new private platform and continuing to deliver sustainable growth for our people, customers and stakeholders."

Global head of services at EQT, Mattias Wittkowski, concluded: "We are delighted to have reached an agreement to acquire Intertek. EQT has admired the business for a long time as it is a global leader in the ATIC market with longstanding customer relationships across sectors, an industry-leading team and a science-based service offering underpinned by remarkable technical expertise.

"As a growth-oriented investor, EQT is committed to investing in Intertek, with a particular focus on innovation and targeted M&A to enable further international expansion and innovation. We will be a supportive partner as we work with Intertek's exceptionally talented global team to identify ways to accelerate its growth as the industry adapts and is transformed by digitalisation and AI."

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