UPDATE 1-Brazil lab chain Fleury acquires Marcelo Magalhaes for $70 mln

(Adds details, shares reaction, analyst comments)

SAO PAULO, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Brazilian lab chain Fleury SA has reached a deal to acquire lab company Marcelo Magalhaes Diagnosticos for 384.5 million reais ($70.12 million), it said in a securities filing on Monday.

The deal will increase Fleury's footprint in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco to 31 patient service centers, the company said, adding that Marcelo Magalhaes had a gross revenue of 114 million reais in the 12 months to July 2021.

Fleury said the deal implies an EV/EBITDA multiple of 7.5x for 2024, "considering the synergies to be capture after the conclusion of the transaction", which still requires approval from Brazil's antitrust watchdog.

Shares in Fleury were down 1.1% at 21.14 reais in morning trading, roughly in line with the broader Bovespa index.

Credit Suisse analysts said the deal is apparently expensive but in a core business, noting that it would require "significant synergies."

($1 = 5.4831 reais) (Reporting by Gabriel Araujo, Editing by Louise Heavens and Alistair Bell)