MidEuropa is buying control in a niche of healthcare manufacturing where demand is structurally supported by demographics and OEM outsourcing. The firm has acquired a majority stake in MBL Group, described as a leading European CDMO for assisted mobility, rehabilitation and aged care equipment, backing the platform to scale with customers as aging populations drive volumes and product complexity.
The transaction closed on 18 December 2025. Financial terms were not disclosed.
MBL was founded in Denmark in 1988 by the Lauritsen family. The family reinvested a significant amount alongside MidEuropa, enabling a partial exit while retaining significant ownership. CEO Martin Lauritsen, a second-generation family member, will continue to lead the company with the existing management team.
Why this deal fits the current healthcare playbook
This is a with-trend move in European healthcare: private equity continues to target outsourced manufacturing and services businesses positioned behind long-duration demand drivers. In MBL, MidEuropa is underwriting a CDMO model tied to assisted mobility and rehabilitation equipment, where customers increasingly look for partners that can support design, industrialisation and compliant production at scale.
MBL employs around 1,700 professionals across Europe and Asia. The company expects 2025 revenue to exceed EUR 120 million, giving it meaningful operating scale for a specialist CDMO platform.
MBL also brings an innovation angle that is increasingly central to CDMO differentiation. The company holds more than 100 registered patents and is described as highly regarded for its innovation capabilities. For sponsors, that type of IP and engineering depth can support stickier customer relationships, higher-value programs and a stronger position in competitive tenders.
Integration is low, execution is not
Because this is a majority investment rather than a merger of peers, the immediate integration burden should be limited. Management continuity is explicit, and the Lauritsen family’s reinvestment typically signals alignment on a multi-year value-creation plan.
The harder work is operational execution: expanding capacity and capabilities without diluting quality or delivery performance. Key questions for the next phase include:
- Customer concentration and program mix: how diversified MBL is across OEMs and product categories, and where margin and working capital sit by program.
- Regulatory and quality systems: whether the company’s quality management and traceability systems are ready for increased complexity and multi-site scaling.
- Footprint strategy: how Europe and Asia operations are split between cost, engineering, proximity to customers and supply chain resilience.
- Leadership depth: whether the current team has enough bench strength to run continuous improvement while also pursuing expansion.
What MidEuropa is buying exposure to
MidEuropa said the deal aligns with its healthcare investment focus and growth potential. In practice, the acquisition provides exposure to three themes sponsors are repeatedly underwriting in the sector:
- Aging and chronic-care demand: assisted mobility and rehabilitation equipment sits directly in the path of demographic tailwinds.
- OEM outsourcing: CDMO partners that can combine engineering with compliant manufacturing can take share as customers rationalise supplier bases.
- Innovation as a moat: patents and engineering capability can matter more in medical-adjacent hardware, where product performance, safety and time-to-market drive vendor selection.
With terms undisclosed, it remains unclear how much leverage was used, what valuation was paid, and what level of capital expenditure is planned to support growth.
What to watch next
- Whether MidEuropa and MBL outline a clear growth agenda: organic capacity expansion, new customer wins, or both
- Any follow-on acquisitions to broaden capabilities in adjacent rehabilitation and aged care categories
- Signals on capex intensity and how MBL balances growth with quality and delivery KPIs
- Management additions beneath the CEO to increase execution bandwidth across sites and functions
- Customer and geographic mix disclosures that clarify concentration and resilience