Eurofins Scientific agrees to sell MET Labs electronics testing division to UL Solutions for €575 million in European industrial divestiture
Eurofins Scientific, the Luxembourg-headquartered testing laboratories group listed on Euronext Amsterdam, has agreed to sell its electrical and electronic testing business, MET Labs, to UL Solutions, a US-based safety science company, for €575 million (approximately $678 million). The transaction is a carve-out divestiture, with Eurofins separating MET Labs — a business providing electrical and electronic product safety testing and certification — from its broader laboratory services portfolio. The deal reflects a continuing trend of European industrial groups trimming non-core testing and certification assets to focus on higher-margin life sciences and food testing operations. For UL Solutions, the acquisition adds significant capacity in the electrical and electronic (E&E) testing certification market, where demand is rising as regulatory frameworks — particularly in the EU — tighten product safety and electromagnetic compliance requirements. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals in relevant jurisdictions. No advisers were named in the public announcement. The deal was announced on 14 April 2026.
Why this matters
A carve-out of this size from a listed European company activates multiple practice areas simultaneously: M&A counsel must navigate the separation mechanics, including transitional services agreements and IP allocation; competition clearance will be required in the EU and likely the US given UL Solutions' existing position in the E&E testing market. The 'why now' trigger is Eurofins' strategic pivot toward life sciences diagnostics, where margins are structurally higher than industrial testing. Buyers seeking scale in regulated testing and certification — a market shaped by EU product safety regulation and the new General Product Safety Regulation — are acquiring capabilities rather than building organically. The deal also fits a broader pattern of US strategic buyers paying European premiums for technical certification businesses with embedded regulatory relationships.
On the Ground
On a matter like this, a trainee would manage the CP (conditions precedent) checklist tracking merger control filings across multiple jurisdictions, prepare and index due diligence reports on the MET Labs IP portfolio, and draft board minutes approving the transaction documents. Coordinating local counsel instruction letters for each regulatory clearance jurisdiction would also fall to the trainee team.
Interview prep
Soundbite
Carve-outs from listed European groups drive complex multi-jurisdictional merger control work as US buyers acquire certified testing capacity.
Question you might get
“What merger control filings would a deal like the Eurofins/MET Labs sale require, and which jurisdiction is most likely to raise concerns given UL Solutions' existing market position?”
Full answer
Eurofins has agreed to sell MET Labs, its electrical and electronic testing business, to UL Solutions for €575 million. For law firms, this is a cross-border carve-out with competition clearance requirements in at least the EU and US, plus complex separation mechanics — IP licensing, transitional services agreements, and employee transfer arrangements. It reflects a wider pattern of European testing groups shedding industrial assets as life sciences diagnostics offer superior margins and growth. The EU's tightening product safety regulatory framework, including the new General Product Safety Regulation, makes testing certification assets strategically valuable for US acquirors. This suggests European industrial carve-out volumes will remain elevated through 2026, sustaining M&A advisory mandates.
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