BPEA EQT buys India fertility clinic business
BPEA EQT has agreed to acquire a controlling stake in Indira IVF, India’s largest fertility clinic chain, facilitating an exit for minority investor TA Associates.
The size of the transaction was not disclosed. Indian media reported that the valuation was as much as USD 1bn.
BPEA EQT – formerly Baring Private Equity Asia – is committing capital from its eighth flagship Asia buyout fund, which closed last September on USD 11.2bn. The Indira IVF deal will take deployment past the 35% mark, including investments that are announced but not yet completed.
TA purchased a significant minority stake in Indira IVF in April 2019. At the time, the company managed 59 clinics with annual treatment capacity of nearly 27,000 in vitro fertilisation (IVF) cycles. Today, there are 116 clinics across 20 states and approximately 40,000 IVF cycles are completed each year, putting the company into the top five players globally. It employs 2,700 professionals and 250 IVF specialists.
Indira IVF, which was founded by Ajay Murdia in Udaipur in 1988, has helped more than 125,000 couples on the journey towards pregnancy since its inception. It claims a 74% success rate.
The company has invested in international standard embryology labs, closed working chambers that provide long-term stable environments for tissue samples, RFID tagging to track patient information and samples, microfluidic sperm sorter technology that identifies and separates highly motile spermatozoa, and non-invasive pre-implantation genetic testing.
India is one of the fastest-growing markets globally for assisted reproductive technology services, according to a statement. Infertility rates, currently around 15%, are expected to rise in response to factors such as poor diet, stress, and pollution. Around 300,000 IVF cycles are completed each year nationwide – a figure that is projected to see compound annual growth of 15% over the next decade.
“Fertility services and reproductive health is a large and fast-growing opportunity in India and Indira IVF is a pioneer in this space. We are truly impressed by its scalable and repeatable model with best-in-class medical infrastructure and technology systems that have the ability to help realize the dreams of couples who want to become parents,” said Ashish Agrawal, a partner at BPEA EQT.
Other investments in this space in India include a USD 50m growth capital commitment to Oasis Fertility from Kedaara Capital in 2022. The company has more than 26 clinics nationwide. Kedaara’s investment facilitated an exit for Invascent Capital, which first backed the company in 2016.
BPEA EQT was advised by JSA, Lincoln International, PwC, Deloitte, and Awelin on different aspects of the deal. Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan worked with the selling shareholders.
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