The billionaire Struengmann family behind COVID-19 vaccine maker BioNTech is in talks to take a stake in German diagnostics firm Munich Leukemia Laboratory (MLL) as it seeks to add investments in the healthcare sector, people close to the matter said.
People close to the matter also said the Struengmann family was in talks to take a minority stake in MLL, whose owners chose the serial healthcare investor over buyout firms like EQT and KKR. They added that talks have not been finalised and MLL’s owners could still opt for an alternative investor.
MLL’s owners, led by Torsten Haferlach, are working with Goldman Sachs to find an investor for the company which employs around 200 staff and specialises in leukaemia diagnostics and research. MLL generates annual earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of around 40 million euros ($47 million) and its owners asked for a valuation of up to 20 times that.
Source: Reuters
By Arno Schuetze
