Freshfields Leads EQT-Intertek Deal | Lawyer Monthly

Freshfields, Slaughter and May and Simpson Thacher are advising on EQT’s recommended £10.9 billion acquisition of Intertek Group, alongside Linklaters, Clifford Chance and Advokatfirman Vinge.

EQT is pursuing the FTSE 100 assurance, testing, inspection and certification group through Isotope Bidco Limited, a newly formed vehicle backed by EQT funds and minority investors including Luxinva and Mubadala.

Intertek shareholders would receive £60 in cash for each share and retain a final dividend of 107.7 pence, producing a total value of £61.077 per share. The package values Intertek’s issued and to-be-issued share capital at approximately £9.5 billion and implies an enterprise value of about £10.9 billion.

Freshfields is acting as legal adviser to EQT and Isotope Bidco, while Slaughter and May is advising Intertek. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and Swedish firm Advokatfirman Vinge are serving as regulatory counsel to the bidder.

Linklaters is advising Luxinva, with Clifford Chance acting for Mubadala. The financing and transaction structure also involve Morgan Stanley, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan Cazenove and PJT Partners.

The acquisition is expected to proceed through a court-sanctioned scheme of arrangement under Part 26 of the Companies Act 2006. It requires approval from a majority in number of voting scheme shareholders representing at least 75 per cent in value of shares voted, alongside a separate 75 per cent shareholder resolution.

The High Court of Justice of England and Wales must then sanction the scheme before the order is delivered to the Registrar of Companies.

The structure demonstrates the breadth of legal coordination required when a major UK-listed company is acquired by an international private equity consortium.

Corporate teams must align the offer terms, financing arrangements, shareholder documentation and board recommendation, while competition and foreign investment specialists address regulatory clearances across multiple jurisdictions.

Employment, pensions and incentives lawyers also have a material role because the offer documents address employee rights, defined-benefit pension arrangements and replacement awards for management.

Intertek’s directors intend unanimously to recommend the transaction, which carries a 62 per cent premium to the company’s closing share price on 9 April 2026. Meetings are expected by 6 August, with completion currently anticipated in the fourth quarter of 2026 or the first quarter of 2027.

The mandate underlines how the largest UK take-private transactions increasingly require integrated teams spanning public M&A, acquisition finance, regulatory approvals, employment, pensions and court procedure.

Law firms seeking comparable instructions will need to demonstrate that those workstreams can be coordinated across offices without weakening timetable control or disclosure discipline.