Mérieux Equity Partners has acquired the majority of Labquality shares

Mérieux Equity Partners (MxEP) acquired a majority stake in Labquality through its Buyout fund, Mérieux Participations 4 (MP4). This investment aims to facilitate industry consolidation and organic expansion in both Contract Research Organization (CRO) and External Quality Assessment (EQA) activities. Cor Group, the Finnish health and wellness services group, continues Labquality's journey, reinvesting alongside MxEP.

Mérieux Equity Partners acquires a controlling stake in Labquality through a primary LBO. Existing shareholders, including Cor Group and the Management, will reinvest a portion of their proceeds into the company. This transaction will enable Labquality to pursue its buy & build strategy in Europe to accelerate its CRO activities while continuing strong and recurring growth in the EQA segment. Labquality will benefit from MxEP’s sector expertise and financial resources to achieve its ambition of becoming a leading European CRO and EQA platform with fully integrated regulatory consulting capabilities to serve major customers across Europe.

Juha-Pekka Nuutinen, CEO of Labquality: “I am excited to see MxEP investing in Labquality. Labquality's values align with Institut Mérieux and MxEP, building a solid foundation for our future business. MxEP has extensive expertise in investing within the global life sciences and healthcare sectors. Having MxEP as part of our team enables us to leverage the Labquality platform to its fullest potential for international expansion.”

Olli Karhi, Founder and Member of the Board, Cor Group: “Cor Group remains a dedicated shareholder of Labquality, aligning seamlessly with our shared values and objectives, closely mirroring those of MxEP. The partnership with MxEP offers Labquality an exceptional avenue for advancing its internationalization efforts and accelerating its growth trajectory.”

Jaana Grüter, Partner with MxEP: “At Mérieux Equity Partners, we are thrilled to enter into this partnership with Labquality and Cor Group with the common objective to build on Labquality’s leading position as a Nordic regulatory affairs specialist to develop it into a leading European EQA and CRO platform through significant investments in the team and further market consolidation.”

Theodor Wuppermann, Managing Director with MxEP: “We have been very impressed by Labquality’s management team, its outstanding reputation, the high quality of its services, and impressive growth trajectory. We look forward to supporting Labquality in its future development to help achieve its growth objectives.”

The acquisition does not impact Labquality's current customer relationships, partnerships, or personnel.

For queries, please contact:

Juha-Pekka Nuutinen

CEO | Labquality Oy

+358 40 828 3210 | jp.nuutinen@labquality.com

Jaana Grüter

Partner | Mérieux Equity Partners

jaana.gruter@merieux-partners.com

Theodor Wuppermann

Managing Director | Mérieux Equity Partners

theodor.wuppermann@merieux-partners.com