Synlab confirms Cinven takeover offer

(Reuters) -German laboratory equipment producer Synlab said on Monday that UK private equity firm Cinven had submitted a non-binding offer to fully take over the company at 10 euros per share.

"This expression of interest was not coordinated with the Company and it is currently not foreseeable whether there will be a public acquisition offer on the part of Cinven to all shareholders of Synlab AG", the German company said.

Synlab's shares extended their gains and were trading at around 9 euros per share at 1130 GMT, up around 30% from market open.

This put the company on track for its best day ever and the stock topped Germany's small-cap index which was down 2.41%.

Bloomberg News had earlier reported that Cinven, which holds a 43% stake, was considering taking Synlab private following its IPO two years ago.

The asset manager was weighing the move as demand for testing vanishes following the COVID-19 pandemic, Bloomberg added, citing people familiar with the matter.

(Reporting by Andrey Sychev in GdanskEditing by Miranda Murray and Rachel More)