About half a dozen global buyout funds have evinced interest in acquiring India’s largest fertility clinic chain Indira IVF, said people aware of the matter. Blackstone, Baring PE Asia EQT, Warburg Pincus, Bain Capital and KKR are interested in a majority stake in the chain, they said, adding that the deal will value the chain at ₹8000 crore (about $1 billion).

A formal sale process was launched by investment banks Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan last week.

At present, private equity fund TA Associates owns about 47% stake in the chain which was acquired in two tranches. Besides TA Associates, promoters will dilute additional stake, said people in the know. The PE fund had acquired about 35% stake in 2019 for ₹1,100 crore and additional 12% stake later. Once the deal is materialised, it will clock fourfold returns from its investment.

“We would not like to comment on a specific transaction. As part of our shareholders’ investment mandate, they will seek monetisation of their stake at the appropriate time and in a systematic manner,” said Indira IVF spokesperson. “Our association with TA has been really fruitful, the strategic inputs have fast paced the growth journey and helped us expand quickly across the country.”

Spokespersons of TA Associates, Blackstone, BPEA EQT and KKR declined to comment on the development, while emails sent to Warburg Pincus and Bain Capital did not elicit any responses.

Founded in 2011 by Ajay Murdia, Indira IVF is India’s largest infertility speciality clinics chain with 114 centres across the country, supported by a workforce of around 2,400 people. Its centres performed about 40,000 IVF procedures in 2022.

The chain reported revenue of ₹1,250 crore for 2022-23 with an EBITDA of ₹375 crore, said people aware of the matter.

About 25% of India’s IVF market is controlled by the top 10-15 clinics and the rest are held by unorganised firms. Besides Indira IVF, major IVF service providers in India are Nova IVI, Oasis IVF, Bloom Fertility Centre, Bengaluru-based Milann, Morpheus IVF, Ridge IVF, Akanksha IVF and Bourn Hall Clinic.

India’s fertility Industry was valued at $746 million in 2021 and is expected to reach $3 billion by 2030. It is growing at a steady compound annual growth rate of 20% year-on-year and is considered a potentially $12 billion market. The country sees about 337,000 IVF cycles in a year since 10-15% of the couples in India are said to have fertility issues, as per a study conducted by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences.

Increasing marital age, growing number of working women and rising alcohol and tobacco consumption are considered to be the key risk factors. Each IVF cycle costs ₹1.5-2 lakh.

Nova IVI Fertility, the second largest fertility chain, is owned by Asia Healthcare Holdings, a healthcare operating platform backed by private equity funds TPG Growth and GIC.

Last month, Verlinvest acquired a controlling stake in Ferty9 Fertility Centre, a premier chain of fertility clinics in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, for $50 million.