Healthcare merger and acquisition activity decreased in the fourth quarter of 2024, with 452 deals announced, according to new acquisition data from LevinPro HC. This brings the total healthcare deal total 1,991 transactions reported throughout the entirety of 2024. Activity in the fourth quarter marks a 10% decrease from Q3:24 when 504 transactions were reported and a 13% drop from the fourth quarter of 2023 when 523 deals were announced.
NEW CANAAN, Conn., Jan. 13, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Healthcare merger and acquisition activity decreased in the fourth quarter of 2024, with 452 deals announced, according to new acquisition data from LevinPro HC. This brings the total healthcare deal total 1,991 transactions reported throughout the entirety of 2024. Activity in the fourth quarter marks a 10% decrease from Q3:24 when 504 transactions were reported and a 13% drop from the fourth quarter of 2023 when 523 deals were announced.
Activity in sectors such as Physician Medical Groups (PMG) and Other Services drove much of the volume, with 101 and 116 deals, respectively. Deal volume in the Other Services sector was driven by medical outpatient buildings (MOB), with 70 deals in Q4:24, which is double the number of MOB transactions reported in Q4:23. PMG activity was driven by the dental specialty, which saw a total of 43 transactions in Q4:24. This is a year over year decrease as 118 PMG transactions were announced in the final quarter of 2023. It is also a decline from Q3:24 when 113 PMG transactions were reported.
The Biopharmaceutical sector saw the most decline in activity, going from 65 transactions announced in Q4:23 to 41 reported in Q4:24. This decrease can be attributed to increased regulatory scrutiny. eHealth, another technology focused sector, also experienced a decline in activity with 56 transactions, a more than 16% decrease from the fourth quarter of 2023.
Private equity firms, including portfolio companies, account for 35% (156 deals) of healthcare transactions in the fourth quarter. This is a drop from the final quarter of 2023 with 178 deals and the 174 PE deals announced in Q3:34. Active private equity investors in the fourth quarter of 2024 include Quad-C Management, Inc., CI Capital Partners and Shore Capital Partners.
Real estate investment firms were also active with 37 transactions in Q4:24. This represents a 42% increase from Q3:24's 26 deals and more than double that of Q4:24's 16 transactions. In Q4:24, real estate buyers include Montecito Medical Real Estate, AW Property Company and Stockdale Capital Partners, LLC.
"We're not surprised to see a decline in deal activity," said Dylan Sammut, Editor of Healthcare at LevinPro HC, which tracks the data. "Headwinds have been battering the market all year, and the election brought a lot of uncertainty in the industry. Even with a more pro-business agenda from President-elect Trump in 2025, the healthcare market still must contend with inflation, high interest rates, and a tough labor market. It could be a while before the M&A rebounds."
Montecito Medical Real Estate was the most active buyer, regardless of sector, in the fourth quarter of 2024. The company completed 10 MOB transactions and one specialty hospital acquisition. This is a notable increase from the second and third quarters when Montecito announced seven and four deals, respectively. Other active buyers were Health Advocates Network Inc. and Epiphany Dermatology, with four deals each in Q4:24.
Deal value in the fourth quarter totaled $31.3 billion, a nearly 30% decline from the more than $44.7 billion announced in Q3:24 and more than 60% decrease from the $79.1 billion reported in Q4:24. The largest deal by price was Cencora, Inc.'s $4.6 billion acquisition of Retina Consultants of America, a Southlake, Texas-based management services organization of retina specialists.
All quarterly results are published in The Health Care M&A Report, which is part of the Irving Levin Associates and LevinPro investment research source. For information, or to order the reports, call 203-846-6800. Irving Levin Associates is celebrating more than 70 years of delivering exclusive M&A intelligence to its sophisticated audience of seniors housing and healthcare investors. The company was established in 1948 and has offices in New Canaan, Connecticut and North Bethesda, Maryland. The company publishes research reports and newsletters and maintains databases on the healthcare and senior housing M&A markets.
Media Contact
Dylan Sammut, Irving Levin Associates, 203-846-6800, [email protected],
SOURCE Irving Levin Associates
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