Together with its business in Ghana, SYNLAB expands its market-leading position in diagnostics in West Africa
SYNLAB, the leading provider of medical diagnostic services in Europe, today announces the acquisition of the remaining minority shareholding in SYNLAB Nigeria, the largest private medical laboratory group in Nigeria. Prior to this share purchase, SYNLAB held 51 per cent of the share capital of SYNLAB Nigeria, while the founders held a 49 per cent minority share. With this step, SYNLAB concludes the acquisition following the acquisition of an initial majority share in PathCare Laboratories (now SYNLAB Nigeria) in 2017.
The Board of Directors has appointed Kenneth Okolie, former Chief Operations Officer of SYNLAB Nigeria, as Chief Executive Officer. His understanding of the business will ensure a smooth transition.
The news follows just a few weeks after the company won the Nigeria Health Excellence Award (NHEA) 2021 for ‘Most Outstanding Covid-19 Support Private Laboratory Company of the Year’. An award that recognises the tremendous impact and contribution it has made in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
SYNLAB is a market leader in Nigeria in the field of human and environmental laboratory diagnostics, with a special focus on public private partnerships. Its strong market position is based on its high-quality service, the breadth of its test portfolio, and its nationwide network. With more than 200 employees, SYNLAB Nigeria operates 9 laboratories and 28 collection points across Nigeria.
SYNLAB Nigeria remains committed to its purpose to make trusted diagnostics available to more Nigerians. Its customers will continue to benefit from an extended portfolio of specialised tests being sourced from the SYNLAB network. The company will benefit from the Group’s technological advancements and comprehensive cost-effective solutions to enhance the local business with hospitals and other customers.
SYNLAB wishes to acknowledge and appreciate the significant effort of the founders, Drs Richardson and Pamela Ajayi who had a leading role in the change in medical diagnostic care in Nigeria over the past 17 years.
The Group remains optimistic about the economic future of the country and committed to the excellent standards of the SYNLAB brand in Nigeria.
About SYNLAB
SYNLAB, (ISIN: DE000A2TSL71, SYMBOL: SYAB) is the largest European clinical laboratory and medical diagnostic services company and offers a full range of innovative and reliable medical diagnostics for patients, practising doctors, clinics and the pharmaceutical industry.
Providing the leading level of service within the industry, SYNLAB is the partner of choice for diagnostics in human and veterinary medicine. The Group continuously innovates medical diagnostic services for the benefit of patients and customers.
SYNLAB operates in 36 countries across four continents and holds leading positions in most markets. Around 20,000 employees, including over 1,200 medical experts, as well as a large number of other specialists such as biologists, chemists and laboratory technicians, contribute every day to the Group’s worldwide success. SYNLAB carries out ~500 million laboratory tests per year and achieved revenues of EUR 2.6 billion in 2020.
