This Month
BGH Capital in turnaround mode at Virtus Health; opportunistic funds lurk
Sources said BGH Capital has tipped $100 million in fresh equity into Virtus over the past year to reduce leverage and fund expansion.
February
Australia should punt on bold, unproven ideas: Shergold
The Australian Research Council chairman says this country needs to get behind young researchers whose work takes greater risks but offers larger rewards.
October 2024
The start-up revolutionising male fertility tests
A home testing kit for men helps avoid the inconvenience and embarrassment of trips to IVF clinics.
September 2024
Trump is a ‘deer in the headlights’ on one key issue
Heading into the campaign’s final stretch, Republicans careen between their base and swing voters on the powerful issue of reproductive rights.
August 2024
IVF breakthrough shows AI just as good as humans, and much faster
A world-first study led by Australian researchers found an AI-powered embryo selection tool led to a similar number of pregnancies as human embryologists.
April 2024
Companies picking up the bill for employees’ egg freezing and IVF
Google has joined the growing ranks of companies offering financial reimbursements to staff for fertility treatments.
March 2024
Aussie IVF guru plans Nasdaq listing
GenEmbryomics founder Nick Murphy invented a test to screen embryos for genetic disorders. He wants to go public in the US, where the company’s customers live.
February 2024
We’ve spent $40,000 on IVF. I want to continue, but my partner wants to stop
No one’s doing fertility treatment because they want it, says psychologist Narelle Dickinson, so make time for compassionate conversations and be honest.
Fertile forever: the research that is unlocking female fecundity
Philanthropist Nicole Shanahan is spending $100m to find answers to fundamental questions about ovaries.
June 2023
AI-powered IVF to be rolled out in Australian clinics
Artificial intelligence that helps embryologists select the most viable embryos has already been used successfully in Europe to boost pregnancy rates.
May 2023
How ‘three-parent babies’ might change the human population’s future
The correcting of potential problems, critics fear, is also just a hair’s breadth from augmentation
April 2023
The elite couples breeding to save mankind
With global birth rates in free fall, Silicon Valley’s ‘pronatalists’ are aiming to halt the decline – by having as many babies as possible.
10 long reads for the weekend
The real reason Julian Leeser quit over the Voice; single women are paying a high price to have their eggs frozen; and meet Andrew Forrest’s hydrogen guy.
The big freeze – single women pay high price to call the shots
Technology is giving professional females a better shot at having children at a time of their choosing, but some are raiding their superannuation to achieve it.
June 2022
Virtus Health to pay special dividend
The takeover target will pay a fully franked dividend of up to 30¢ a share if BGH Capital acquires more than 90 per cent of the company by June 14.
May 2022
Virtus special dividend slashed due to break fee
The board has spurned BGH Capital for months, but has finally agreed to provide it with access to a data room.
NSW to offer $2000 rebates for IVF treatment
The state government is looking to put women and families front and centre of the coming budget.
Virtus Health swaps horses to back BGH’s fresh bid
Sources suggested it is unlikely rival UK-based bidder CapVest Partners will up its bid again.
Liverpool Partners in $202m bid for IVF provider Genea
As PE battles for Virtus Health, smaller rival Genea has a $202 million takeover of its own.
April 2022
Virtus board backs new higher offer from CapVest
After four months and eight bids, the IVF player is backing an increased offer from the UK-based PE firm, blocking rival BGH Capital’s latest move.