EQT to Take Qiagen Private in €10.8B Buyout After Seven-Year Saga

Swedish private equity firm EQT has agreed to acquire Qiagen for €10.8 billion (about $12.1 billion) in cash, ending nearly seven years of on-and-off takeover activity around the life-sciences tools, diagnostics and workflow provider.

The buyer is EQT Private Equity, a holding company indirectly controlled by the EQT XI fund. Co-investors hold indirect stakes through Luxinva, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, and CPP Investment Board Europe, a subsidiary of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. The enterprise value includes roughly $1.1 billion of net debt, Qiagen said.

The offer price of €46.50 ($51.88) per share represents an 8.6% premium over Qiagen's Wednesday close — but a 40.3% premium over the XETRA closing price of €33.15 ($36.84) on July 8, the last trading day before reports of private equity interest surfaced. Against the three-month volume-weighted average price of €31.66 ($35.18) through July 8, the premium reaches 46.9%.

Why did Qiagen's boards accept?

Qiagen said its Supervisory and Managing Boards concluded, after a comprehensive strategic review with strategic and financial parties, that a buyout offered the best prospects for the company's next growth phase — greater flexibility to invest longer term under private ownership plus certain cash value for shareholders.

"After considering Qiagen's stand-alone strategic prospects and the alternatives available through discussions with strategic and financial parties, we unanimously concluded that this is the best path forward for Qiagen, its shareholders, and other stakeholders," Supervisory Board Chairman Stephen H. Rusckowski said in a statement. He added that the transaction "offers shareholders compelling value while positioning Qiagen for its next phase of development under private ownership."

The backdrop weakened during 2025. In April, Qiagen cut its net sales growth forecast from 5% to 1–2% and lowered adjusted diluted EPS guidance from $2.50 to $2.43, after QuantiFERON blood-test kit sales fell 5% year over year at constant currencies on reduced U.S. and Middle East demand for immigration-related tuberculosis testing. Shares hit a 52-week low of €27.56 ($30.62) on XETRA May 12 and $32.13 on NYSE the next day.

Matteo Thun-Hohenstein, Partner at EQT, said: "Qiagen's management team and employees have built an exceptional company with a portfolio of highly attractive products and respected brands, strong market positions and considerable technical expertise." EQT, he said, brings "deep sector experience, a global network and operational capabilities" to invest in product innovation and growth.

How strong is EQT's life-sciences track record?

EQT holds €354 billion in assets under management. In 2019 it acquired a majority stake in Aldevron, sold to Danaher two years later for about $9.6 billion. In 2021 it joined Goldman Sachs' private equity arm to buy contract research organization Parexel for $8.5 billion. In 2023 it co-led a €129 million ($138 million) Series A for Amsterdam neurodegenerative-disease biotech VectorY. Other portfolio companies include SPT Labtech, Galderma, Dako and HemoCue. EQT says it has about 100 healthcare investment professionals across 15 countries and over €30 billion ($33.6 billion) invested across more than 210 healthcare companies.

Financing is committed. Morgan Stanley, Jefferies, Deutsche Bank, SMBC, Crédit Agricole and UniCredit act as bookrunners and mandated lead arrangers on the debt.

What are the deal conditions and timing?

• Close expected mid-2027; Qiagen keeps its name and brand afterward.
• Under the Business Combination Agreement, EQT commits to Qiagen's strategy, key brands, operational footprint, R&D activities, employee arrangements, prudent financing and culture.
• Minimum acceptance threshold of 50% of outstanding share capital plus one share, plus board approvals, merger control and foreign investment clearances.
• If closing slips past August 21, 2027, Qiagen may pay an interim dividend of up to $0.47 per share, not deducted from the offer price.
• Holders who do not tender receive a cash distribution equal to the offer price less withholding taxes, which may net less than tendering.

Investors reacted cautiously. XETRA shares rose 5% Thursday, from €42.82 ($47.77) to €44.94 ($50.13); NYSE shares gained just 0.6%, from $50 to $50.32 by 1:42 pm ET. Qiagen suspended its full-year guidance.

The deal caps a long M&A history. Thermo Fisher Scientific offered about $11.5 billion in March 2020 to add Qiagen's COVID-19 and infectious-disease tests, then terminated the bid five months later after only 47% of shares tendered against a required 66.67% — despite raising the offer from €39 to €43 per share ($12.5 billion total) — with activist Davidson Kempner, which lifted its stake from 3.6% to 8%, opposing the price. In 2022, The Wall Street Journal reported unconfirmed merger talks between Bio-Rad Laboratories and Qiagen valued at more than $10 billion.

Qiagen's boards will recommend shareholders tender and vote in favor in a position statement due after EQT publishes the offer document.