BÜHLMANN Laboratories AG (“BÜHLMANN”) announces the closing of the acquisition by funds advised by KLAR Partners Limited (“KLAR Partners” or “KLAR”) today June 5th, 2024. The acquisition enables BÜHLMANN to support its future as a leading independent specialty in-vitro diagnostics company.
Dr Roland P. and Thess Bühlmann recently signed a share purchase agreement to transfer 100% of the shares of BÜHLMANN and its affiliates in Germany, France, Italy, Austria, USA and Brazil (together the “BÜHLMANN Group”) to KLAR.
Since its founding 48 years ago, BÜHLMANN has been a private, family-owned Swiss SME focused on developing innovative immunoassays used to diagnose gastrointestinal inflammation, autoimmunity and allergy. After a careful evaluation of potential ownership transfer options, Dr Bühlmann decided to sell the company to KLAR, a sector-focused financial investor with experience in founder transitions.
“If I were 20 years younger, I would not have sold my company”, noted Dr Bühlmann, “but today, it is my responsibility as an entrepreneur to secure the future of BÜHLMANN. I am very pleased that we have found professional, motivated and committed new owners in KLAR.”
BÜHLMANN will remain an independent Swiss company. The BÜHLMANN brand as well as the Schönenbuch site are also secured as part of the transaction.
Ahmet Mesinoglu from KLAR Partners underlined that: “BÜHLMANN will always be BÜHLMANN”, and: “We are grateful to Dr Bühlmann for the trust and opportunity to acquire such an outstanding in vitro diagnostics company and one of the global brands in the industry. BÜHLMANN stands for innovative, high quality products and customer focused services. KLAR will continue to invest in BÜHLMANN and in the Schönenbuch site. Our goal is to help the Company achieve its full potential as a global specialty IVD leader.”
As part of the succession planning, Donal Quinn, former CEO of Siemens Diagnostics, has been appointed as Chairman of the Company’s Advisory Board; Laurent Collignon, the Company’s current Chief Business Development Officer, has been appointed as new CEO, replacing Dr Thomas Hafen, who will continue to serve BÜHLMANN as a senior advisor after he retires from active duties in September 2024.
“I will leave BÜHLMANN after exactly 20 years of service, and this change of ownership is the best anniversary gift for me I could have imagined”, remarked Dr Hafen. “I wish Laurent and my colleagues all the best for their journey and I am thrilled about BÜHLMANN’s future.”
About BÜHLMANN
BÜHLMANN is a mid-sized Swiss company, located in Schönenbuch, near Basel. Since 1976, the purpose of the company is to develop and market specialty, high-quality in-vitro diagnostics and to distribute third party molecular diagnostics products. The company promotes its own products through own affiliates as well as through more than 60 qualified distributors worldwide. BÜHLMANN priorities are to offer quality and specialty in-vitro diagnostics to their customers and to provide a stable and motivating work environment to its employees.
About KLAR
KLAR Partners is a European private equity firm focused on investments in companies operating in business services and industrial technology. The companies in which KLAR invests each have an annual turnover of approximately EUR 50-500m and are headquartered in the DACH, Nordics and Benelux regions. With investment professionals located in London, Stockholm, Frankfurt, and Brussels, together with a broad international network in the industry, KLAR has a proven business model to support, develop and grow companies. KLAR’s senior professionals have worked together for many years and have more than 50 years of combined investment experience in KLAR’s industry-specific and geographical focus area. KLAR Partners is a signatory of United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment.
About Hoffman & Partner and Vischer Attorneys
Hoffmann & Partner (www.hoffmann-partner.com) acted as lead financial M&A advisor and Vischer Attorneys (www.vischer.com) as legal advisor of the sellers.
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