EQT agrees to take QIAGEN private in €10.8 billion deal

EQT agreed to take QIAGEN private at €46.50 a share in cash. The molecular-testing company said the transaction values it at about €10.8 billion in enterprise value, or about $12.1 billion including roughly $1.1 billion of net debt. The buyer is Crown NL Bidco B.V., indirectly controlled by EQT XI, with the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and CPP Investment Board Europe holding co-investment participations. Reuters put the equity value at about €9.6 billion.

For investors deciding whether to tender, acceptance requires 50% of outstanding share capital plus one share—a simple majority, not a squeeze-out level—and EGM resolutions giving EQT a path to full ownership. Merger control and foreign investment clearances are still required; EQT has secured equity and debt financing.

The €46.50 offer is 40.3% above QIAGEN's XETRA close of €33.15 on July 8, the last trading day before reports of buyout interest, and 46.9% above the three-month volume-weighted average price to that date. Against the most recent close, Reuters said, the premium was 8.6%, and QIAGEN's US-listed shares rose 0.7% in extended trading.

QIAGEN's supervisory and managing boards back the deal and will recommend acceptance. The company suspended its full-year 2026 outlook pending the transaction and reported preliminary third-quarter net sales of $548 million and adjusted diluted earnings per share of $0.65.

If required approvals are still pending ten months after the announcement, QIAGEN may pay an interim dividend of up to $0.47 a share without reducing the offer price. Thermo Fisher Scientific agreed in 2020 to buy QIAGEN for about $11.5 billion and abandoned the deal after failing to win enough shareholder support. The companies expect closing in mid-2027.