BÜHLMANN Laboratories AG was sold to KLAR Partners

BÜHLMANN Laboratories AG from Schönenbuch announces the completion of the acquisition by KLAR Partners Limited. Thanks to the acquisition, the company’s future is in safe hands. The strong global market positions of the BÜHLMANN Group will be further expanded.

Since 1976, BÜHLMANN Laboratories AG, a privately owned Swiss SME, has been developing and marketing high-quality in-vitro diagnostics and distributing third-party molecular diagnostic products. The company distributes its own products through subsidiaries in Switzerland, Germany, France, Italy, Austria, the USA and Brazil, as well as through more than 60 qualified distributors worldwide.

The owners signed a share purchase agreement at the beginning of May 2024 to transfer 100% of the shares of BÜHLMANN Laboratories AG and its subsidiaries (the BÜHLMANN Group) to KLAR Partners Limited. BÜHLMANN will remain a Swiss brand, the jobs and the Schönenbuch site will be retained after the acquisition, ensuring continuity for employees, customers and suppliers. The company philosophy with all the values that the BÜHLMANN Group is standing for to date will continue to be the fundamental guidelines for management. 

KLAR Partners is a European private equity firm focussing on investments in companies in the business services and industrial technology sectors. The companies in which KLAR invests have annual revenues of approximately EUR 50-500 million and are headquartered in the DACH, Scandinavia and Benelux regions. Together with the management of the BÜHLMANN Group, KLAR Partners will continue to invest in the BÜHLMANN Group and the Schönenbuch site and support the continuation of growth.  

As part of the succession planning, Laurent Collignon has been appointed as the new CEO. He will replace Dr Thomas Hafen, who has been playing a key role in shaping the company for the last 20 years. Thomas Hafen will leave BÜHLMANN AG at the end of September 2024, but will continue to be available to the company as a Senior Consultant.

Hoffmann & Partner (www.hoffmann-partner.com), the Basel-based M&A advisory firm specialising in life sciences, has acted as the exclusive M&A financial advisor in the transaction and advised the shareholders of the BÜHLMANN Group with technical and industrial expertise.