Baring PE Asia (BPEA) will acquire a control stake in Indian fertility clinic chain Indira IVF, per an announcement on Friday. DealStreetAsia had first reported about the preliminary talks in April this year.
BPEA will invest in Indira IVF’s R&D capabilities and technology while expanding the chain across India and exploring expansion into neighbouring markets.
Indira IVF’s founders Dr Ajay Murdia, Dr Kshitiz Murdia, and Dr Nitiz Murdia will retain a significant minority stake and continue to lead the company.
BPEA will be investing from its BPEA Private Equity Fund VIII. With this transaction, Fund VIII is expected to be 35-40 % invested.
“We see strong potential in further expanding India IVF’s presence across India and entering adjacent markets while continuing to invest in its R&D capabilities and technology, drawing on EQT’s in-house expertise within healthcare and digitalisation,” said Ashish Agrawal, partner at BPEA EQT.
Established in 1988, Rajasthan-headquartered Indira IVF operates over 110 infertility treatment clinics across 20 states in India. It has over 250 specialists and counts Oasis IVF, Crysta IVF, Milann Fertility Center, and Nova IVI Fertility among its competitors.
Indira IVF is understood to have clocked about Rs 840 crore in revenue in FY19-20, a year before the COVID-19 crisis hit India. Subsequently, its revenue fell to about Rs 649 crore in FY20-21 before going up to about Rs 920 crore in FY21-22. In the financial year ended March 31, 2023, it is expecting to rake in revenues of Rs 1,200 crore, said industry insiders close to the company. However, the final numbers are still awaited.
Established in 1997, BPEA currently has two business divisions. One is the equity and real estate business that Sweden’s EQT Partners acquired in October last year, and the other is the BPEA credit arm.
Late last year, the equity division of BPEA made headlines when it raised $11.2 billion for its latest flagship fund.