EQT's €46.50-a-share offer for QIAGEN comes with promises on brand, sites and staff

QIAGEN and EQT Private Equity announced on October 21, 2026 an agreement on a recommended all-cash public takeover offer of €46.50 per share. The offer values QIAGEN at an enterprise value of about €10.8 billion, about $12.1 billion, including about $1.1 billion of net debt. QIAGEN says the price is a 40.3% premium to its €33.15 close on July 8, 2026, the last trading day before reports of private equity interest, and 46.9% above its three-month average price to that date.

The bidder is Crown NL Bidco, indirectly controlled by an EQT fund, with co-investors that are subsidiaries of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and CPP Investments. The offer needs acceptance by holders of at least 50% of the share capital plus one share, certain shareholder resolutions, and merger-control and foreign-investment clearances. Closing is expected in mid-2027. Both QIAGEN boards approved the agreement and will recommend the offer once the formal offer document is published.

EQT says it will support QIAGEN's long-term development, including its strategy, key brands, operational footprint, research and development, employee arrangements and culture, and QIAGEN will keep operating under its own name. The release also describes what happens to holders who do not tender: after closing they would receive a cash distribution equal to the offer price, less any withholding tax, and the company's listings in Frankfurt and New York would end.