KKR in talks to buy fertility clinic giant

KKR is in advanced talks to buy Spanish fertility clinic chain Ivirma Global for between €2.5 billion and €3 billion, per Bloomberg.

Why it matters: Fertility spent decades as a private market afterthought, but is now receiving intense attention from early-stage startups through multibillion-dollar buyouts. It also could be another example of private debt picking up where syndicated loans fell off, following last week's deal between Thoma Bravo and Anaplan.

Other bidders reportedly included Carlyle, Cinven, KKR and Nordic Capital.

The bottom line: Ivirma claims to be one of the world's largest reproductive medicine groups, with around 75 clinics and 28 labs in nine countries.