Swedish investment firm EQT announced that it will acquire Dutch molecular diagnostics company QIAGEN for approximately €9.6 billion. QIAGEN’s board approved the proposal, and the transaction is expected to be conducted entirely in cash, with investment entities affiliated with ADIA and CPPIB also participating.
Swedish private equity firm EQT has agreed to acquire QIAGEN through holding company Crown NL Bidco. The proposal is priced at €46.50 per share, with a total value of approximately €9.6 billion, and the transaction will be entirely cash-based. QIAGEN’s board approved the proposal.
Investment entities affiliated with the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) are also expected to participate in the acquisition entirely in cash, and the structure is expected to take a form similar to a public tender offer. Market participants have reported that QIAGEN shares recently traded at €42.82 per share on the Frankfurt market, giving the company a market capitalization of approximately €8.55 billion.
The transaction is viewed as one of the largest in Europe’s healthcare sector this year. U.S. investment firm KKR had also previously proposed acquiring QIAGEN. There have also been reports that some QIAGEN shareholders wanted a transaction at more than $50 per share.
QIAGEN provides genetic testing technologies and services, with pharmaceutical companies’ research and development divisions and clinical laboratories among its customers. Thermo Fisher Scientific previously considered acquiring the company in 2020, but abandoned the plan after opposition from shareholders and other factors prevented sufficient participation in the tender offer. EQT is also becoming increasingly active in large-scale acquisitions.