You may have read the article in The Wall Street Journal on September 22, titled “Health Law Speeds Merger Frenzy.” It featured our data on the pace of hospital M&A between 2009 and August 31, 2015, with the obvious conclusion that 2015 is the winner for the most deals announced in the first eight months. We took that a step further this week, to see how many small hospitals (defined as 100 or fewer beds) have changed hands in recent years. The data below clearly shows that 2015, even with partial data, tops the previous five years with 34 deals (45% of the total) announced with small hospitals as the target. We’ll have more in the October issue of Health Care Deal News, so sign up now.

M&A among Small Hospitals*, 2009 to 2015
YearSmall hospitals acquiredTotal hospital dealsShare of total
2015 (YTD, Sept. 25)347645%
20142110021%
2013268830%
20122910727%
2011359338%
2010287637%
2009135026%
Source: Health Care Information Source, Sept. 2015