EQT agrees to buy German diagnostics group Qiagen at 46.50 euros a share

Swedish private equity firm EQT plans to take over Qiagen, a member of Germany's DAX index. The cash offer of 46.50 euros per share values the diagnostics and biotech company, based in Hilden near Duesseldorf, at about 10.8 billion euros including debt (enterprise value). The companies announced the agreement on Wednesday evening after the market closed. On Thursday Qiagen shares rose more than 6% at one point and were up about 5% at 45.06 euros in the afternoon, dpa-AFX reported. Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund and Canadian pension investor CPP Investments are to join the bidding vehicle.

Qiagen's management and supervisory boards will recommend that shareholders accept the offer. The company's boards are convinced the deal creates the best environment for Qiagen's next phase of growth, dpa-AFX reported. "This agreement provides our shareholders with an attractive premium," Chief Financial Officer Roland Sackers said in the companies' statement. The companies said the price is 40.3% above the closing price on July 8, 2026, the last trading day before first reports of private equity interest. Qiagen employed about 5,400 people at the end of September.

The offer is subject to a minimum acceptance threshold of 50% plus one share and to regulatory approvals, among other conditions. Completion is expected in mid-2027. EQT then plans to delist Qiagen from the Frankfurt and New York exchanges. An earlier takeover bid of just over 11 billion euros from U.S. group Thermo Fisher failed. Investors KKR and Advent had also reportedly shown interest, dpa-AFX said, citing earlier Bloomberg reports.