SYNLAB Group
SYNLAB Group is an international medical diagnostics provider headquartered in Munich, Germany.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
SYNLAB Group is a multinational provider of medical laboratory diagnostics and specialty testing. Headquartered in Munich, Germany, the group serves physicians, hospitals, clinics, public authorities, companies, and patients through a large laboratory and specimen-collection network. Its activities cover routine and specialized human diagnostics, including clinical chemistry, haematology, coagulation, microbiology, serology, immunology, genetics, molecular biology, pathology, cytology, endocrinology, and maternity-related testing. The business originated in 1998, when Bartl Wimmer and partners established SYNLAB GmbH in Augsburg as an association of freelance laboratory physicians. A significant early turning point came in 2010, when SYNLAB merged with Futurelab and Fleming Labs. The combination created a platform for further consolidation in a fragmented European laboratory market. Private-equity ownership subsequently played a central role in the group's development. Cinven acquired French laboratory provider Labco in August 2015 and became the majority shareholder of SYNLAB later that year. In October 2015, Cinven merged Labco and SYNLAB, creating the current SYNLAB Group. Novo Holdings acquired a minority stake in 2016 and increased it to approximately 20% in 2017. SYNLAB expanded through a mixture of organic growth, laboratory-network integration, and acquisitions. It entered Africa in 2015 and made acquisitions at a substantial pace between 2016 and 2019. The group later expanded in Latin America, including entry into Chile in 2022 and additional bolt-on acquisitions in Mexico and Colombia. In 2022, it also acquired Sistemas Genómicos, a Spanish genetics and bioinformatics laboratory. Alongside expansion, SYNLAB divested non-core activities, selling its Analytics & Services business to SGS in 2021 and its veterinary diagnostics segment to Mars Incorporated in 2023. The group's hub-and-spoke network has included approximately 500 laboratories, two European reference laboratories, central laboratories serving other facilities, regional laboratories, and emergency laboratories. It has also operated more than 1,800 blood collection points. SYNLAB processes hundreds of millions of laboratory tests and samples annually across thousands of test parameters. Its specialist capabilities include reference testing and a WHO supranational reference laboratory in Munich-Gauting focused on tuberculosis. Its Spanish molecular genetics activities were associated with the development of an early non-invasive prenatal genetic test in Europe. The COVID-19 pandemic materially increased demand for SYNLAB's PCR testing. In 2020, the company became a UEFA laboratory diagnostics provider for the 2020/2021 season, testing players, officials, and referees. SYNLAB reported that sales increased by approximately 44% in 2021, largely reflecting pandemic-related testing demand. The group also won a 15-year centralized pathology-services tender in the United Kingdom in 2020 for a consortium of NHS trusts in London. SYNLAB was admitted to the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in April 2021, but requested delisting from German stock exchanges in 2024. In October 2024, it agreed to sell its Spanish business to Eurofins Scientific. The group remains positioned as a large-scale diagnostic-services operator whose competitive model combines local patient access, centralized specialist laboratories, medical expertise, and cross-border consolidation.
History
SYNLAB's origins date to 1998, when Bartl Wimmer and several partners founded SYNLAB GmbH in Augsburg, Germany. The organization began as a cooperative-style association of freelance laboratory physicians. Its initial model reflected the structure of the European laboratory market, where independent medical laboratories served physicians, hospitals, and patients through local operations. The company began building a broader consolidation platform in 2010 through its merger with Futurelab and Fleming Labs. This transaction expanded the group's geographic and operational base and established a foundation for subsequent acquisitions. The next major phase involved private-equity ownership and the combination of SYNLAB with Labco. Cinven acquired the French laboratory provider Labco in August 2015. Labco had been established in 2004 by French biologists as a cooperation among nine laboratories and had expanded into Spain and Portugal through its 2007 acquisition of General Lab. In October 2015, Cinven acquired a majority interest in SYNLAB and merged it with Labco. The transaction created SYNLAB Group, an international laboratory-services platform with a substantial presence in European markets. Before Cinven's majority investment, BC Partners had been SYNLAB's majority shareholder. Novo Holdings entered the ownership structure in December 2016 with a 10% holding, later increasing its stake to approximately 20% in 2017. SYNLAB continued to grow through acquisitions and geographic expansion. It entered Africa in 2015 and, from 2016 through 2019, reportedly spent an average of approximately €200 million per year on acquisitions. The group used this consolidation strategy to broaden its laboratory network, add specialist capabilities, and establish positions in national markets. Its business model combined local collection sites and regional laboratories with central and reference facilities capable of handling complex or high-volume tests. The United Kingdom became an important institutional-services market in 2020, when SYNLAB won a 15-year centralized pathology contract serving a group of London NHS trusts. The same year, the COVID-19 pandemic created exceptional demand for diagnostic testing. SYNLAB was selected as a UEFA laboratory diagnostics provider for the 2020/2021 season and tested players, officials, and referees. The resulting increase in PCR activity contributed to an approximately 44% rise in reported sales in 2021. The group also reshaped its portfolio. In 2021, it sold its Analytics & Services activities to SGS, narrowing its focus toward medical diagnostics. Expansion later shifted toward Latin America and other growth markets. SYNLAB entered Chile in 2022 and made additional bolt-on acquisitions in France, Germany, Mexico, and Colombia. It acquired Sistemas Genómicos in Spain in 2022, adding genetics and bioinformatics capabilities. In 2023, SYNLAB sold its veterinary diagnostics segment to Mars Incorporated. SYNLAB became a publicly traded company in April 2021 through a listing in the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The company subsequently requested delisting from German stock exchanges, completed in July 2024. In October 2024, it agreed to sell its Spanish business to Eurofins Scientific, another major international laboratory group. These later transactions illustrate an ongoing pattern of expansion, specialization, and selective divestment. Operationally, SYNLAB has been described as maintaining roughly 500 laboratories across its network, including central, regional, emergency, reference, and specialist sites. The group has also operated more than 1,800 blood collection points. Its services span routine testing and advanced disciplines such as genetics, molecular biology, pathology, infectious-disease diagnostics, and prenatal testing. The business has therefore evolved from a German association of independent laboratory physicians into a multinational medical-diagnostics network built through professional expertise, centralized infrastructure, and cross-border consolidation.
- 2024
German stock-market delisting
[1]SYNLAB was delisted from German stock exchanges at the company's request.
- 2024
Agreement to sell Spanish business
[1]SYNLAB agreed to sell its Spanish business to Eurofins Scientific.
- 2023
Veterinary diagnostics divestment
[1]SYNLAB sold its veterinary diagnostics segment to Mars Incorporated.
- 2022
Expansion in Latin America
[1]SYNLAB entered Chile and continued building its Latin American presence through additional acquisitions.
- 2022
Sistemas Genómicos acquisition
[1]SYNLAB acquired Spanish genetics and bioinformatics specialist Sistemas Genómicos.
- 2021
Prime Standard listing
[1]SYNLAB was listed in the Prime Standard segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
- 2021
Analytics & Services divestment
[1]The group sold its Analytics & Services activities to SGS.
- 2020
UK centralized pathology contract
[1]SYNLAB won a 15-year centralized pathology-services tender for several London NHS trusts.
- 2020
UEFA testing partnership
[1]SYNLAB became UEFA's laboratory diagnostics provider for the 2020/2021 season during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- 2015
Cinven combines SYNLAB and Labco
[1]Cinven acquired Labco and then a majority of SYNLAB, merging the businesses into SYNLAB Group.
Products and positioning
A large international medical-diagnostics network combining local sample-collection access with centralized laboratories, specialist testing, and acquisitions across fragmented healthcare markets.
Human medical laboratory testing
Routine clinical diagnostics
SYNLAB provides routine laboratory examinations used in diagnosis, screening, monitoring, and prevention. The service portfolio includes clinical chemistry, haematology, coagulation, endocrinology, immunology, and serology. Testing is delivered through local and regional laboratories and is intended for physicians, hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare providers.
Molecular diagnostics
Molecular and infectious-disease testing
This line includes molecular biology, microbiology, PCR, and related infectious-disease diagnostics. It became particularly visible during the COVID-19 pandemic, when SYNLAB processed large volumes of PCR tests and supported institutional testing programs, including UEFA testing for the 2020/2021 season.
Genetics and bioinformatics
Genetic and genomic diagnostics
SYNLAB offers genetic, molecular-genetic, and bioinformatics services, including specialist testing and prenatal applications. Its Spanish molecular genetics activities were associated with the development of a non-invasive prenatal genetic test, and the 2022 acquisition of Sistemas Genómicos strengthened the group's genetics and bioinformatics capabilities.
Anatomical pathology
Pathology and cytology
The pathology and cytology offering covers laboratory examination of tissue and cellular material. SYNLAB operates central, regional, and reference capabilities and won a 15-year centralized pathology-services tender in the United Kingdom in 2020 for a consortium of London NHS trusts.
Patient access and laboratory logistics
Blood collection and specimen services
SYNLAB's patient-facing network has included more than 1,800 blood collection points. These sites support the collection and transport of blood, urine, tissue, and other specimens to regional, central, and specialist laboratories for analysis.
Marketing campaigns
- 2020UEFA Laboratory Diagnostics Provider
Europe
SYNLAB supported UEFA's pandemic protocols by testing players, officials, and referees during the 2020/2021 season.
Outcome. The partnership increased the visibility of SYNLAB's molecular and PCR-testing capabilities in a major international sports environment.
Brand decisions
2024
Delisting from German stock exchangesOtherBackground
After its period as a Frankfurt-listed company, SYNLAB requested removal from German stock exchanges.
Action taken
The company was delisted in July 2024.
Aftermath
SYNLAB ceased to be publicly traded on German stock exchanges.
2024
Agreement to sell Spanish business to EurofinsM&ABackground
SYNLAB continued selectively reshaping its geographic portfolio while operating in a highly consolidated laboratory-services industry.
Action taken
The group agreed to sell its Spanish business to Eurofins Scientific.
Aftermath
The transaction was expected to transfer SYNLAB's Spanish operations to another major international diagnostics provider; the supplied material does not state the final completion date or financial terms.
2023
Sale of veterinary diagnosticsStrategyBackground
SYNLAB continued to streamline its business portfolio after expanding its human-diagnostics platform.
Action taken
The veterinary diagnostics segment was sold to Mars Incorporated.
Aftermath
SYNLAB's portfolio became more focused on human medical diagnostics and related services.
2021
Sale of Analytics & Services activitiesStrategyBackground
SYNLAB reviewed its portfolio while concentrating more closely on medical diagnostics.
Action taken
The group sold its Analytics & Services activities to SGS.
Aftermath
The divestment reduced exposure to activities outside the core medical-diagnostics network.
2015
Merger of SYNLAB and LabcoM&ABackground
Cinven sought to combine two sizeable European laboratory platforms after acquiring Labco and taking a majority position in SYNLAB.
Action taken
SYNLAB and Labco were merged to form SYNLAB Group.
Aftermath
The transaction created the foundation for a multinational diagnostic-services group and accelerated subsequent consolidation.
Recent events
SYNLAB announces intention to list shares in Frankfurt[2]
Reported:
SYNLAB AG announced its intention to list its shares on the Regulated Market (Prime Standard) of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The announcement describes a plan; it does not report that the listing has occurred.
Sources2 sources
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