Rehabilitation Deals Gained Strength in 2016

Rehabilitation Deals Gained Strength in 2016

Mergers and acquisitions in the Rehabilitation sector continued the climb that began in 2014, with a 21% increase in deal volume since 2015. Mergers and acquisitions in the Rehabilitation sector continued the climb that began in 2014. A total of 40 deals were announced in 2016, up 21% compared with the year before, and 90% higher than in 2014. This fragmented sector has benefited from the growing emphasis on post-acute care and cost efficiencies, similar to the Home Health sector. Like physician medical groups, targets in this sector tend to be small, privately held operations and their acquisitions aren’t always publicly announced. For that reason, the data may underrepresent the... Read More »

2016 Home Health and Hospice Deals Picked Up

After a rough 2015, when the M&A bubble burst in this sector, deal volume in 2016 showed signs of recovery. Fifty-seven deals were announced in 2016, a 12% increase compared with the previous year. A few companies accounted for several deals. Jordan Health Services, a portfolio company of Palladium Equity Partners, led with five transactions. Epic Health Services, a portfolio company of Webster Capital, announced four deals, as did Kindred Healthcare (NYSE: KND). The latter company surprised many observers with its announcement that it was leaving the skilled nursing space to concentrate more on long-term acute care hospitals and home health and hospice agencies. We expect at least a... Read More »

Cerulean Pharma Shifts its Focus to Women’s Health

Cerulean Pharma Inc. (NASDAQ:CERU), a clinical-stage company that develops nanoparticle-drug conjugates (NDCs), sold off its lead assets and is transitioning its focus from oncology to women’s health. The company announced on February 1, 2017 that it had hired investment bank Aquilo Partners, L.P., as its financial advisor to assist in a comprehensive review of strategic alternatives to maximize stockholder value. Then, on March 20, 2017, it announced that it had entered a stock purchase agreement with privately-held Daré Bioscience, in which Daré will own between 51% and 70% of the combined company. Daré Bioscience is a California-based, clinical-stage pharmaceutical company that develops... Read More »

The MACRA Effect Keeps Building

Last year, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services asked for comments and then rolled out the final rules on the implementation of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA). Many industry observers predicted the rules would drive the majority of independent physician practices “right into the arms” of a local hospital, health system or other entity. Those predictions appear to be true. As of mid-March 2017, 46 acquisitions of physician practices have been announced, a 105% increase from the same period a year ago. Only one of the deals disclosed a price,  Optum’s (NYSE: UNH) $3.3 billion acquisition of Surgical Care Affiliates Inc. (NASDAQ:... Read More »