NEW YORK, Oct. 30, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Prelude Fertility announced the expansion of its rapidly growing network with the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire Vivere Health and its flagship partner, the Houston Fertility Institute (HFI). Along with previously named partners, Pacific Fertility Center of San Francisco, Reproductive Biology Associates of Atlanta, MyEggBank – the nation's largest donor egg bank – and now the Vivere markets, which includes HFI of Houston, Prelude continues to execute its strategy of partnering with top-tier centers in the largest U.S. metropolitan areas. The acquisition also includes Vivere's leading network of de novo and recently acquired clinics, which serve eight important growth markets.

"Acquiring Vivere, including HFI, demonstrates our ability to execute on our business strategy," said Prelude Fertility Chief Executive Officer, Susan Hertzberg. "By adding the Vivere clinics to the Prelude Network, we move closer to achieving national scale, one of our key strategic goals. Additionally, Vivere's robust back-office capabilities accelerate our ability to provide a full suite of services across our network." Hertzberg went on to add, "This acquisition is an important step forward in creating the premiere fertility services company in the United States, and in delivering on our brand promise to help people have healthy babies when they are ready."

HFI operates 12 clinics throughout the metropolitan Houston area, staffed by 14 reproductive endocrinologists who performed over 3,400 IVF cycles in 2015, according to the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART). HFI is the highest-ranking IVF clinic in Texas, based on Forbes Magazine's 2016 analysis of the top-50 busiest IVF clinics in the U.S. Nashville-based Vivere, and its 22 locations nationwide, amplify HFI's success, having collectively performed over 5,100 total cycles in 2015 (SART). These locations greatly expand Prelude's geographic reach to Arizona (Tucson), Connecticut (Stamford), Indiana (Indianapolis), Kentucky (Louisville), Louisiana (New Orleans), Nevada (Las Vegas), Tennessee (Nashville) and Texas (Austin and Houston).

"The addition of 22 new locations to the Prelude Network creates a tremendous opportunity for Prelude to extend its message about fertility preservation and greatly improves patient access to top quality fertility care around the country," said Lee Equity Partner, Collins Ward. "It will also ignite strategic synergies with MyEggBank and increase donor egg supply across our network."

Vivere was founded in 2010, with LLR Partners and Dr. Jimmy Gill and Dr. Gus Haddad of HFI, and has become one of the largest companies within the fertility industry. Throughout the years, Vivere has demonstrated a proven history of growth through clinical best practices, innovative marketing initiatives and operational management.

"This is a new chapter and promising evolution of the original vision and what we have created with Vivere," said Vivere CEO and President, Debbie James. "This acquisition by Prelude is an exciting next step, as they will leverage Vivere's centers to provide additional services to women and men seeking solutions to achieve a healthy pregnancy." 

For more information about Prelude, visit www.preludefertility.com.

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About Prelude Fertility
Prelude is a comprehensive fertility company focused on providing people with the best options for meeting their family-building goals. Using a proactive approach to fertility care, Prelude aims to improve people's chances of having healthy babies when they are ready. Founded in 2016 by serial entrepreneur Martín Varsavsky, Lee Equity Partners, Reproductive Biology Associates and MyEggBank, the company was established to give men and women more reproductive choices and greater control over their biological clocks. By coupling earlier decision making with the latest reproductive science and technology, Prelude can increase the probability of having a healthy baby and decrease the chances of requiring infertility therapy later in life. www.PreludeFertility.com

About Vivere Health, LLC
Vivere is a fertility management and equity partner which turns growing practices into successful businesses. Vivere establishes joint venture partnerships with fertility professionals to develop new practices or strengthen existing ones by applying business and operations strategies that expand their markets and their market share. This may involve the development of new practice locations, embryology laboratories or ambulatory surgery centers, in order to strengthen the performance of a practice and achieve strategic growth objectives. Headquartered in Franklin, TN the Vivere has fertility partnerships across the United States. Known for its interdisciplinary hiring philosophy and corporate culture, Vivere was featured in Modern Healthcare, Becker's ASC and the Nashville Business Journal for its exceptional growth and corporate leadership. www.ViverePartner.com.

About Lee Equity Partners, LLC
Lee Equity Partners is a New York–based private equity firm that partners with strong management teams to accelerate growth and build market leading companies. Lee Equity targets equity investments of $50 to $100 million in middle market control buyouts and growth capital financings in companies with enterprise values of $100 million to $500 million that are located primarily in the United States. The firm invests in a range of industries where the team has deep relationships developed over decades, including financial, healthcare and business services, consumer and media.www.LeeEquity.com

MEDIA CONTACTS:

For Prelude:
Stephanie van Sasse
Krupp Kommunications 
SVanSasse@kruppnyc.com  
646-797-2041

For Lee Equity Partners:
Caitlyn MacDonald
Lee Equity Partners 
CMacDonald@leeequity.com  
212-906-4930

SOURCE Prelude Fertility

Related Links

http://www.preludefertility.com/