Diagnostics firm Qiagen agrees to €10.8 billion EQT buyout

QIAGEN ↘ 0.04% has agreed to be taken private by EQT in an all-cash deal. The buyout firm's EQT XI fund will offer €46.50 per share, a 40.3% premium to the Dutch-domiciled diagnostics company's unaffected share price, the companies said on October 21, 2026, in a joint statement. The deal gives QIAGEN an enterprise value of about €10.8 billion, or roughly $12.1 billion, including about $1.1 billion of net debt. Closing is expected in mid-2027.news.cision.com

The premium is measured against QIAGEN's €33.15 close on Xetra on July 8, 2026, the last trading day before reports of private equity interest. The price is also 46.9% above the stock's three-month volume-weighted average up to that date. Earlier that day, Bloomberg reported that a deal was close, putting the value at around €9.6 billion. QIAGEN's U.S.-listed shares rose 2% after that report, according to Seeking Alpha.tradingview.com+2

Deal structure and conditions

The offer will be made by Crown NL Bidco B.V., a holding company indirectly controlled by EQT XI. The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, through its subsidiary Luxinva, and CPP Investments will co-invest. Both of QIAGEN's boards unanimously back the offer. Shareholders must tender at least 50% of the share capital plus one share, and the deal also needs approval at an extraordinary general meeting plus merger-control and foreign-investment clearances.tradingview.com+1

The boards will carry out post-closing measures to give the buyer full ownership if at least 80% of votes cast approve them. If support falls short of that, the boards can still proceed with backing from a "substantial majority" of shareholders. QIAGEN would then leave the Frankfurt Stock Exchange Deutsche Börse AG and the NYSE. EQT has committed equity and debt financing, and the offer has no financing condition. QIAGEN has also suspended its full-year 2026 outlook while the deal is pending.businesswire.com+2

Rationale from both sides

Supervisory Board Chairman Stephen H. Rusckowski said the boards looked at QIAGEN's prospects on its own and at talks with "strategic and financial parties." They "unanimously concluded that this is the best path forward," he said. Chief Executive Jonathan M. Pratt said private ownership would let the company "move faster and have greater freedom to put resources behind the most attractive opportunities".businesswire.com

EQT has agreed to commitments covering QIAGEN's brands, operational footprint, R&D and employees, and the company will keep its name. EQT's Michael Bauer called it "a landmark transaction for EQT". With this investment, EQT XI will be 10% to 15% invested based on its €23 billion target size.news.cision.com+1