(Reuters) -France's Bureau Veritas and Switzerland's SGS (SIX:SGSN) are in merger talks to create a testing and certification giant worth more than $30 billion that would dwarf competitors.
The two companies, which test and certify new products, ingredients and processes, gave few details on Wednesday about the talks, and said there was no guarantee of a deal.
Bureau Veritas shares jumped as much as 6% in early trade to a record high of 31.54 euros. SGS shares slipped about 6%, with some analysts saying they had expected the Swiss company to focus on its own business improvement plan.
A merger would create a company significantly larger than rivals including Britain's Intertek and France's Eurofins.
Bureau Veritas has a market valuation of about 13.23 billion euros ($13.6 billion), according to LSEG data, while SGS's valuation is about 17.4 billion Swiss francs ($19.1 billion).
SGS has nearly 100,000 staff worldwide, while Bureau Veritas has 83,000 employees.
Their similar size means the transaction could be a merger of equals, said Zuercher Kantonalbank analyst Daniel Buerki.
"There has never been a transaction of this size in the sector before," said Buerki.
"The TIC (testing, inspection and certification) market is not very consolidated, with the four biggest players having a combined market share of 20-25%."
TIC companies have been benefiting from the rise in interest around topics like sustainability. Both companies are also involved in inspection services - carrying out checks at other companies to ensure efficiency and safety standards are met.
Bloomberg News previously reported the companies were in advanced merger talks, and said the final details of a transaction could be announced in the coming weeks.
JP Morgan said the talks were an unexpected development, especially as both companies have relatively new chief executives and only outlined their new strategies last year.
The bank's analyst Sylvia Barker said SGS's management had been driving efficiencies and streamlining its portfolio of companies.
"We had expected some longevity to that story," she said. "As such, this development may not be welcome by all SGS shareholders," said Barker.
($1 = 0.9709 euros)
($1 = 0.9122 Swiss francs)