Opening summary

Chicago-headquartered value house Harris Associates L.P., the long-time adviser to the Oakmark Funds and an autonomous affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers, issued a Form 8.3 disclosure on Intertek Group plc (LON: ITRK) at 15:59:00 BST on Friday 22 May 2026. The notice was distributed as a press release (PRN) carried by major regulatory news platforms and confirms that Harris continues to hold an interest of 1% or more in the FTSE 100 testing, inspection and certification (TIC) group during a live Offer Period triggered by EQT AB's £9.2 billion all-cash Takeover proposal.

Harris Associates is among the most-watched names on the Intertek register. Earlier in May, Bloomberg and several other outlets reported that Harris and members of the Peltz family — together holding close to 10% of Intertek's Equity — had publicly urged the Intertek board to open formal talks with EQT after three rejected proposals. The board moved decisively on 13 May to signal it was "minded to recommend" EQT's fourth and final offer of £60 in cash per share, plus a permitted Dividend of up to £1.077 per share. Today's Form 8.3 therefore lands at a particularly sensitive moment in the takeover timetable.

Key takeaways

  • Harris Associates L.P. (Chicago) issued a Form 8.3 disclosure on Intertek Group plc on 22 May 2026 at 15:59:00 BST via a press release (PRN) to the market, confirming an interest of 1% or more in Intertek’s relevant securities.
  • Harris had previously gone public with calls for Intertek's board to engage with EQT AB's takeover approaches, alongside Matt Peltz; their pressure is widely credited with helping unlock board engagement with the final £60-per-share proposal.
  • Form 8.3 is a procedural disclosure required under Rule 8.3 of the UK Takeover Code whenever a person holds 1% or more in any class of relevant securities of an offeree company during an offer period — it does not, on its own, indicate a buy or sell decision by Harris.
  • EQT AB's £60-per-share cash offer values Intertek at roughly £9.2 billion; the board has indicated it is minded to recommend the proposal subject to satisfactory documentation and conditions.
  • Harris Associates manages the Oakmark Funds, has followed a deep-value, high-conviction investment philosophy since 1976, and is an autonomous Subsidiary of Natixis Investment Managers based at 111 South Wacker Drive in Chicago.

What the announcement says

Form 8.3 is the standard template prescribed by the UK Takeover Panel for any person — including institutional fund managers acting on behalf of pooled vehicles, sub-advised mandates and separately managed accounts — who controls an interest of 1% or more in any class of relevant securities of an offeree company in an offer period. The Harris Associates filing relates to Intertek's ordinary 1p shares (ISIN GB0031638363) and was timed at 15:59:00 BST on 22 May 2026, well within the 3.30pm-next-Business-day deadline that applies to dealings disclosures under the Code.

A complete Form 8.3 sets out the discloser's identity and address; the date and reason for the disclosure; the class and ISIN of the relevant securities; the size of long and short positions in shares, Derivatives and rights to subscribe; details of any dealings since the last disclosure (including price and date of each trade); any open stock-settled derivative positions (which must be detailed on a Supplemental Form 8 if applicable); information on any agreements relating to the future control of relevant securities; and details of Indemnity, option, or other arrangements that could influence voting. Because this article does not reproduce the literal RNS text, readers seeking the precise numerical positions disclosed should consult the original filing on the London Stock Exchange RNS service or the Takeover Panel disclosure page.

It is worth emphasising that a single Form 8.3 cannot, on its own, indicate whether Harris has been buying, selling, hedging or simply standing still. Many disclosures during an active offer period reflect routine portfolio Rebalancing within a position that remains above the 1% threshold.

Why it matters

Harris Associates is one of the few named shareholders who actively shaped the public narrative around the EQT–Intertek negotiations. According to Bloomberg's reporting on 12 May 2026, investors holding close to 10% of Intertek collectively pushed the board to enter formal talks after EQT delivered what it described as its fourth and final proposal. Harris was identified alongside Matt Peltz as one of those shareholders. The board's subsequent statement on 13 May 2026 — that it was "minded to recommend" the £60 cash proposal — represented a clear shift from its previous stance of rejecting EQT's offers as undervaluing the business.

Against that background, the latest Form 8.3 is significant because it signals that Harris remains above the 1% threshold and continues to be a disclosure-relevant holder as the deal approaches the formal Rule 2.7 firm-offer announcement and scheme document publication. Any change to Harris's position — whether through tactical accumulation, derivative hedging, or partial profit-taking — will continue to be visible to the market through the Form 8 stream, providing one of the cleaner read-throughs available on how a major sophisticated holder is positioning into deal completion.

Company background

Intertek Group plc (LON: ITRK)

Intertek is a London-listed, FTSE 100 total quality assurance group active in five divisions: Consumer Products, Corporate Assurance, Health & Safety, Industry & Infrastructure and World of Energy. Founded as a combination of historic testing businesses, the company today operates more than 1,000 laboratories, offices and field sites across approximately 100 countries, employing more than 44,000 staff. Its services range from product safety testing for retailers and consumer brands, to inspection of cargoes and minerals, to integrity management for refineries, pipelines and renewable installations.

Long-serving chief executive André Lacroix, who joined in May 2015, has built the group around a recurring "AAA" growth strategy — accelerating like-for-like growth, sharpening margins and accretive M&A. The FY2025 results disclosed divisional revenues of about £983.4m in Consumer Products (30.4% adjusted operating Margin), £858.1m in Industry & Infrastructure (11.1% margin), £729.0m in World of Energy (8.7% margin), £514.0m in Corporate Assurance (22.6% margin) and £347.1m in Health & Safety (13.0% margin). Consumer Products contributes the largest share of profit, while Corporate Assurance is the fastest-growing high-margin area.

Earlier in 2026, Intertek announced a strategic review that contemplated separating its energy and infrastructure Assets from its core testing and assurance Franchise. EQT's approach effectively superimposes a whole-company sale option onto that review.

Harris Associates L.P.

Harris Associates L.P. is one of the longest-established Value Investing firms in the United States. Founded in 1976 and headquartered at 111 South Wacker Drive in Chicago, Illinois, Harris has built its reputation on a contrarian, valuation-driven philosophy that emphasises long holding periods, deep fundamental research, and a focus on businesses where Shareholder-aligned management is allocating Capital towards Intrinsic Value creation. The firm is the investment adviser to the Oakmark Funds, including Oakmark Fund, Oakmark Select, Oakmark International, Oakmark Global, Oakmark Equity & Income, Oakmark Bond Fund and the more recently launched Oakmark U.S. Large Cap ETF (NYSE: OAKM).

Harris is an autonomous affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers (part of the BPCE group), giving it independent investment authority while benefiting from a global distribution platform. The firm is well known in UK takeover situations for taking high-conviction positions and using formal disclosure and, where necessary, public commentary to encourage boards to engage with credible value-realisation opportunities. That approach was visible during the Intertek–EQT negotiations earlier in May 2026.

Latest share price and market context

Intertek shares re-rated materially in 2026 as EQT's bid escalated. According to Bloomberg, Investing.com and ad-hoc-news.de, the stock jumped around 6.4% to roughly 5,300p on 12 May 2026 as the market absorbed news of board engagement with the £60 proposal. By mid-May 2026, ITRK was changing hands around 5,620p, with a 52-week range stretching from about 3,520p at the low to 5,720p at the high. The total cash value of EQT's final proposal — £60 in cash plus up to £1.077 in permitted dividend — implies roughly 6,108p per share, equivalent to a premium of about 59% over the undisturbed pre-bid price.

In typical UK takeover dynamics, the shares have been trading slightly below the headline offer level to reflect remaining completion risk, financing risk, regulatory clearance risk and the time-value-of-money cost of waiting for deal close. Readers should consult a live data source such as the London Stock Exchange, Yahoo Finance, Hargreaves Lansdown or their broker for the latest intra-day quote on 22 May 2026 and beyond.

Sector backdrop: the global TIC industry

Intertek competes within a global TIC Oligopoly that includes Switzerland's SGS (roughly US$7.7bn Revenue, the global leader), Luxembourg's Eurofins Scientific (~US$7.5bn revenue, the most aggressive consolidator), and France's Bureau Veritas (~US$7.0bn revenue). Intertek, at above US$4bn of revenue, has historically been the most consumer-products-weighted of the listed majors. The wider TIC market is highly fragmented below the top five, with significant private competition from Element Materials Technology, TÜV SÜD, TÜV Rheinland, DEKRA and DNV — and increasing Acquisition activity from infrastructure and private-equity sponsors.

Industry analysts have long cited the structural attractions of TIC: regulated end-markets, recurring contracts, modest capital intensity once laboratories are built, and the ability to roll up smaller competitors. Long-term industry valuations have averaged in the region of 14x EV/EBITDA, with high-quality operators commanding multiples toward the upper end of the range. EQT's £9.2 billion proposal for Intertek would be among the largest private-equity-led take-privates of a listed TIC business and would remove one of only a small handful of pure-play public TIC names from the London market.

Investor implications

From an Intertek shareholder's perspective, Harris Associates' continued presence above the 1% threshold and willingness to make its views public has been a stabilising Factor in the bid process. Active value investors of Harris's standing typically push for clear, written confirmation of value at the highest credible level rather than accepting the first proposal — a stance that aligns with EQT's progressive bid increases from £51.50 to £54, £58 and finally £60.

There are several broader implications for investors. First, the involvement of identified, sophisticated holders such as Harris reduces the risk that a minority of retail and index investors are left in an information vacuum about the relative attractiveness of the proposal. Second, today's filing — alongside the same-day Form 8.3 by Canadian quality investor PineStone Asset Management and ongoing Form 8 disclosures from JPMorgan exempt principal trader desks and The Vanguard Group — paints a picture of a closely-held, well-tracked register. Third, retail investors evaluating their own decisions can use the Form 8 stream as a transparent data source on whether large active holders are increasing, trimming or hedging exposure into deal completion.

Finally, because Harris is a recognised long-term value investor rather than an event-driven arbitrageur, its decisions to hold, trim, or add to Intertek can be read as a directional signal on the perceived attractiveness of EQT's final terms relative to standalone value. However, investors should be cautious about extrapolating any single disclosure into a definitive view.

Risks to consider

  • Deal completion risk: EQT's offer remains subject to formal documentation, regulatory clearances, antitrust review across multiple jurisdictions, and a shareholder vote at a court-convened meeting if implemented via a scheme of arrangement.
  • Interloper risk: EQT has framed the £60 proposal as final, but UK Takeover Code procedure permits an interloping bidder to emerge; any such development could increase the cash value but could also collapse the implied premium if the second bidder fails to materialise.
  • Standalone execution risk: if EQT walks away, Intertek will return to its standalone strategy and the proposed separation of energy and infrastructure assets — a credible plan but one that carries its own execution and timing risk.
  • Macroeconomic and FX risk: Intertek generates significant revenue outside the UK, predominantly in US dollars; currency moves can shift reported revenue and Earnings independently of underlying activity.
  • Reputational and concert-party risk: large activist-style positions in a target during an offer period attract intense scrutiny from the Takeover Panel; while Harris's public commentary is fully consistent with Code provisions, any inadvertent disclosure missteps in this environment carry regulatory consequences.
  • Disclosure timing risk: a Form 8.3 captures positions at a point in time; intra-day or subsequent trading can materially alter a discloser’s economic exposure before the next required filing.

What investors watch next

  • Publication of EQT's firm offer announcement under Rule 2.7 of the Takeover Code and the related scheme document or offer document, including the detailed timetable.
  • Formal Intertek board recommendation, fairness opinion from the independent financial adviser, and irrevocable undertakings from major shareholders.
  • Further Form 8 disclosures from Harris Associates, PineStone Asset Management, JPMorgan exempt principal trader desks, The Vanguard Group, BlackRock, State Street and other significant Intertek holders.
  • Statements from the Peltz family office and any other identified activist or strategic holders regarding their voting intentions.
  • Regulatory clearances in the UK, EU, US, China and other jurisdictions where Intertek's laboratory network operates.
  • Any commentary from EQT on financing structure, equity co-investors and post-deal management plans, including the future of the Lacroix-led growth strategy.