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lifebrain Acquisition, Valuation, Funding & Investors
lifebrain was acquired by Cerba HealthCare for $1.4B in July 2021.
lifebrain acquisition price
$1.4B
Acquired by Cerba HealthCare · Jul 2021
lifebrain EBITDA multiple at acquisition
13.3x
EV/EBITDA · Jul 2021
Cumulative funding lifebrain raised
$22M
across 2 funding rounds
Key investors in lifebrain
MCI Capital
BIP Investment Partners
About lifebrain
Lifebrain is an Austria-based platform aggregating diagnostic laboratory services, founded by FutureLAB creators post-merger into Synlab. It connects labs, providers, and patients across Central Europe for streamlined testing access.
Founded
2013
HQ
Website
Status
Acquired
Customer focus
B2C & B2B
Revenue model
Commission
Valuation
$1.4B (acquired Jul 2021)
Sectors
lifebrain Acquisition
lifebrain was acquired by Cerba HealthCare for $1.4B on 21 July 2021.
The acquisition price implies a 13.3x EBITDA multiple.
Before the acquisition lifebrain had raised $22M across 2 funding rounds.
Lifebrain is Italy's largest medical laboratory diagnostics provider, founded in 2013 by Austrian professors Michael Havel and Bernhard Auer. The company operates approximately 360 laboratories across Italy, offering routine and specialty laboratory testing including COVID-19 diagnostics, clinical chemistry, haematology, immunochemistry, microbiology, molecular biology, cytology, and pathology services. In 2021, Lifebrain had established itself as a key player in the Italian diagnostics market with significant geographic reach and testing capabilities. Cerba HealthCare, a French medical laboratory services provider and leader in routine, specialty, and research testing in Western Europe, acquired the entire stake of Lifebrain from Investindustrial in July 2021 for €1.3 billion. The transaction valued Lifebrain at 13.3x EBITDA based on 2021 projected earnings of approximately €121 million, reflecting the robust profitability growth Lifebrain had achieved under Investindustrial's ownership (EBITDA more than doubled from €48-61 million in 2019 to over €121 million by 2021, driven by bolt-on acquisitions and international expansion efforts). The acquisition was part of EQT's broader consolidation strategy in the European laboratory testing market, as EQT had acquired Cerba HealthCare in 2021 and subsequently supported Cerba's pursuit of value-accretive laboratory businesses. The transaction positioned Cerba as a stronger regional player with expanded presence in Italy and complementary diagnostic capabilities, contributing to a wave of consolidation in the European medical lab testing sector characterized by multiples in the 12-15x EBITDA range during this period.
| Acquirer | Date | Type | Price | EV/EBITDA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 Jul 2021 | Strategic M&A | $1.4B | 13.3x |
lifebrain Funding History
lifebrain has raised a total of $22M across 2 funding rounds.
lifebrain's first fundraising round was a undisclosed-stage round in September 2014. The most recent completed round was a $22M undisclosed-stage round in May 2015.
lifebrain funding rounds
| Date | Stage | Investors | Raised | Deal Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2015 | Undisclosed stage | MCI Capital (lead) | $22M | Lifebrain is an Italian company operating in the healthcare and medical diagnostic market, established by Professor Michael Havel and Bernhard Auer using a 'buy and build' strategy. MCI.EuroVentures Fund invested in mid-2015 and exited its entire position in 2018 to strategic investor Investindustrial for EUR 36.6M overall. During the Fund's roughly three-year holding period, Lifebrain rapidly scaled by acquiring about 220 laboratory locations and centralizing processes for reagents and tests, achieving cost synergies. By 2018 at exit, Lifebrain generated over EUR 100M in annual revenues, with EBITDA increasing almost 10 times during MCI's investment. The realized IRR for MCI.EuroVentures was 22%, including future payoffs. MCI.CreditVentures Fund was also a shareholder alongside MCI.EuroVentures. Post-exit, Investindustrial owned Lifebrain, which continued growth through acquisitions like Nuovi Laboratori in 2021. By 2021, Lifebrain reported sales above 140 million euros and EBITDA over 40 million euros. MCI Capital, listed on Warsaw Stock Exchange, focuses on tech and growth investments in CEE and Europe, with Lifebrain noted as a key divestment. |
| Sep 2014 | Undisclosed stage | BIP Investment Partners (lead) | - | BIP Investment Partners invested in lifebrain AG, the Austrian medical laboratory group. lifebrain runs clinical diagnostic testing and consolidated independent laboratories in Austria and Italy. BIP sold its holding to Investindustrial in May 2018. |
Who has invested in lifebrain?
2 investors have backed lifebrain across its funding rounds, including MCI Capital and BIP Investment Partners.
Lead investors include MCI Capital and BIP Investment Partners.
lifebrain Investors
| Investor | HQ | Rounds | Role | First check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Start Free TrialAcquisitions by lifebrain
lifebrain has acquired 1 company to date.
Last acquisition by lifebrain was on May 4th 2021. lifebrain acquired Unilabs for undisclosed valuation.
Latest Acquisitions by lifebrain
| Description | Unilabs is a European diagnostics leader with operations in Spain encompassing clinical analysis, pathological anatomy, and diagnostic imaging. It delivers services in biochemistry, molecular biology, cytogenetics, pathology, hematology, immunology, microbiology, and genetics. Headquartered in Switzerland with a presence across 10 countries, Unilabs processes millions of tests annually for rapid medical diagnoses. |
| HQ Country | |
| HQ City | Madrid |
| Deal Date | 4 May 2021 |
| Valuation | undisclosed |
| EV/Revenue | |
| EV/EBITDA | |
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all lifebrain acquisitions and their M&A valuation multiples. Start Free Trial | |
lifebrain Competitors
lifebrain competitors include listed companies like Haier Biomedical, Azenta, Dian Diagnostics Group and Daan Gene, and private ones like Pathway Genomics and Karius.
| Company | HQ | Status | Revenue | EBITDA | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publicly listed | $347M | $54M | $1.4B | 3.4x | ||
| Publicly listed | $594M | $35M | $1.5B | 2.0x | ||
| Publicly listed | $1.5B | $127M | $1.7B | 1.4x | ||
| Publicly listed | $113M | ($75M) | $1.1B | - | ||
| Private | - | - | $933M | - | ||
| Private | - | - | $700M | - |
lifebrain Public Comps
lifebrain is no longer listed, but its public comps include Haier Biomedical, Azenta, Daan Gene, Guangzhou Wondfo Biotech, Dian Diagnostics Group, Maravai LifeSciences, Clinica Baviera, BioLife Solutions, Wintech Nano (Suzhou) Co and Novogene.
| Last FY | EV/Revenue | EV/EBITDA | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | EBITDA | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | |
| $347M | $54M | 3.6x | 3.4x | 23.7x | 22.2x | |||
| $594M | $35M | 2.0x | 2.0x | 34.0x | 20.7x | |||
| $113M | ($75M) | 8.7x | - | (13.1x) | - | |||
| $311M | $26M | 2.9x | 3.0x | 34.6x | 13.6x | |||
| $1.5B | $127M | 1.4x | 1.4x | 16.4x | 12.2x | |||
| $186M | ($159M) | 7.2x | 6.6x | (8.4x) | 87.7x | |||
| $348M | $98M | 2.9x | 2.7x | 10.3x | 9.4x | |||
| $96M | ($10M) | 18.0x | 15.9x | (171.9x) | 61.3x | |||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all lifebrain competitors and their valuation data. Start Free Trial | ||||||||
Common questions about lifebrain
| When was lifebrain founded? | lifebrain was founded in 2013. |
| Where is lifebrain headquartered? | lifebrain is headquartered in Vienna, Austria. |
| Is lifebrain publicly listed? | No, lifebrain was acquired by Cerba HealthCare in July 2021. |
| Who acquired lifebrain? | lifebrain was acquired by Cerba HealthCare in July 2021. |
| How much was lifebrain acquired for? | lifebrain was acquired for $1.4B in July 2021. |
| How much funding has lifebrain raised? | lifebrain has raised $22M across 2 funding rounds. |
| What was lifebrain's last funding round? | lifebrain's last funding round was a $22M undisclosed-stage round in May 2015, led by MCI Capital. |
| Who are lifebrain's investors? | lifebrain's investors include BIP Investment Partners and MCI Capital. |
| Which companies are comparable to lifebrain? | Companies comparable to lifebrain include Haier Biomedical, Azenta, Dian Diagnostics Group, Daan Gene, Pathway Genomics and Karius. |
| How many companies has lifebrain acquired? | lifebrain has acquired 1 company, including Unilabs. |
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