CMS advises lab service provider SYNLAB on acquisition of ALcontrol

Munich – The SYNLAB Group has signed a purchase agreement to acquire the ALcontrol Group, a European provider of testing services in the environmental sector. This expands SYNLAB’s capacity with regard to environmental diagnostics. Completion of the transaction will provide access to a range of European markets, including the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark. The purchase price was not disclosed. The acquisition is currently awaiting approval from the competition authorities.

An international CMS team headed by Dr Christoph Lächler and Dr Tobias Schneider advised SYNLAB on all legal aspects of the transaction. The lab service provider has relied for many years on the M&A expertise of CMS’s lawyers. CMS has advised the SYNLAB Group on the acquisition of a number of laboratories since 2010, both within Germany and beyond.

ALcontrol is an independent lab service provider in the environmental sector with a large number of branches across Europe. ALcontrol’s customers include leading multinational companies as well as national and regional public institutions. Employing around 900 people, the company generates sales of almost EUR 95 million.

The SYNLAB Group is a leading lab service provider in Europe. It was created through the merger of SYNLAB and Labco, with international private equity investor Cinven being one of the main shareholders. The company offers medical diagnostics for patients, general practitioners, hospitals and the pharmaceutical industry. Lab analyses are also conducted for the veterinary medicine and environmental sectors. SYNLAB has 17,000 employees and operates in more than 30 countries across four continents. The company carries out around
450 million analyses each year, generating sales of some EUR 1.6 billion.

CMS Germany

Dr Christoph Lächler
Dr Tobias Schneider, both Lead Partners
Dr Udo Simmat, Client Relationship Partner
John Hammond, Partner, all Corporate/M&A
Dr Harald Kahlenberg, Partner, Merger Control
Christina Lung
Pia Klages, both Associates, both Corporate/M&A
Dr Marc Seibold, Partner
Dr Andreas Grunert, Senior Associate, both Banking & Finance
Dr Thomas Sonnenberg, Partner
Dr Daniel Kaiser, Counsel, both Compliance
Lena Heim
Angelika Wieczorkowski, both Senior Associates, both Merger Control

CMS Netherlands

Christian Delgado, Partner, Corporate/M&A
Barbara Veldmaat, Partner
Fleur van Assendelft de Coningh, Associate, both Employment & Pensions
CMS Spain
Luis Miguel de Dios, Partner
Rafael Sáez, Counsel, both Corporate/M&A

CMS France

Jean-Robert Bousquet, Partner
Benoit Gomel, Associate, both Corporate/M&A
Romain Boyet, Associate, Banking & Finance

CMS UK

James Grimwood, Partner
Ramez Krishnan
Marc Berger, both Associates, all Corporate/M&A

Inhouse Counsel

Dr Peter Macheiner