Precisely when will BC Partners finally close its deal with FutureLabs, the Austrian and Pan-East European lab group?

The deal was announced on September 1 and, together with BC’s acquisition of German lab group Synlab, is at around EUR500m, the largest healthcare services deal announced in Europe so far this year.

Deal closure, which was initially announced for late 2009, is now likely to slip into January 2010, according to a BC spokeswoman.

It is well known that FutureLabs accounts are somewhat challenging, with many subsidiaries scattered across several countries. Other private equity groups, such as Mid-Europa, looked hard at FutureLabs over an 18 month period before BC stepped in.

Apart from due diligence issues, competitors question how BC can make money. They point out that lab reform (a euphemism for lower lab test prices) is ongoing in Austria, Switzerland and the Czech Republic and that prices in Hungary can hardly go any lower.