Testing and certification company Intertek is planning to split off its less profitable energy and infrastructure unit through a sale or demerger, despite rejecting a £10.6 billion takeover offer from Swedish private equity firm EQT. The timing suggests parallel thinking rather than one company copying the other, as EQT launched its bid on April 10 while Intertek outlined its plans days later.

The potential breakup could unlock substantial value. With Intertek's enterprise value just over £7 billion before the news, its testing and assurance business alone might be worth £7.3 billion when valued at 15 times this year's estimated operating profit. The energy and infrastructure unit could be valued at £1.7 billion.

Intertek's shares now trade about 3% below EQT's £51.50 per share offer, indicating investors don't expect another bidder to emerge before EQT's mid-May deadline. The board has leverage to potentially extract a higher price since EQT's bid is less than 10% above where shares traded in early March.