KKR Nearing Deal for Fertility Treatment Provider Ivirma

(Bloomberg) -- KKR & Co. is nearing a deal to acquire Spanish fertility clinic chain Ivirma Global, according to people familiar with the matter.

The New York-based buyout firm is in advanced talks for Ivirma after outbidding other rivals, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. A transaction could value Ivirma at about 2.5 billion euros ($2.7 billion) to 3 billion euros, the people said.

The parties are hammering out details of a transaction that could be announced in the coming days, the people said. Talks are ongoing and could still fall apart. 

Representatives for KKR and Ivirma didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. An agreement could be signed in the next few hours, and Ivirma’s medical and management team will continue as shareholders and lead the business, ServiMedia reported Monday, citing unidentified people. 

KKR, Cinven, Nordic Capital and Carlyle Group Inc. were among buyout firms that have expressed interest in acquiring the Spanish company, Bloomberg News reported earlier this month. Banks and private credit firms are competing to provide debt financing for a potential deal, people familiar with the matter have said.

With about 75 clinical offices and 28 laboratories in nine countries, Ivirma is one of the world’s leading reproductive medicine groups, according to its website. The firm was created after the 2017 merger of IVI, which had operations in Europe and Latin America, and the U.S.-focused RMA.

The transaction could be one of the first major debt-financing deals to come to market since Russia invaded Ukraine in late February. It also shows how private credit is trying to move into larger transactions, which would have traditionally been handled by the syndicated loan market.

Fertility operations have been seeing strong interest, with German health-care company Fresenius SE agreeing to buy the lucrative Eugin Group business from Middle Eastern hospital operator NMC Health in 2020. Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Co. reached a deal last year to buy a 60% stake in UEMedical, which operates hospitals, fertility clinics and dermatology centers in the region. 

Private-equity led transactions are heating up again. Carlyle and PAI Partners agreed to buy women’s health business Theramex from private equity firm CVC Capital Partners, according to an announcement on Monday, which confirmed an earlier Bloomberg News report. The deals add to the $65.7 billion of acquisitions targeting the health-care industry this year, data compiled by Bloomberg show. 

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