Cardinal Health Can’t Please Everyone

Cardinal Health Can’t Please Everyone

by | Apr 21, 2017 6:32 pm | Medical Devices, Other Services

Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE: CAH) announced its $6.1 billion acquisition of three Medtronic businesses (NYSE:MDT) on the same day it disappointed shareholders with its 2017 guidance update. It’s been a tough April for Cardinal Health, the healthcare services and products company that operates through its Pharmaceutical and Medical segments. On April 18th, 2017, the company released a disappointing guidance update stating that its fiscal 2017 non-GAAP EPS from continuing operations will be at the bottom of its previous guidance range of $5.35 to $5.50. The company pointed to generic drug deflation as one of the leading factors.  That same day, the company announced its largest deal to date,... Read More »

Abbott and Alere: The Wedding Is Back On!

by | Apr 21, 2017 4:03 pm | Laboratories, MRI & Dialysis, Medical Devices, Pharmaceuticals

It seems so long ago. Back in February 2016,  Abbott (NYSE: ABT) and Alere Inc. (NYSE: ALR) announced their $5.8 billion deal. Abbott’s board okay’ed paying $56 per common share of Alere, representing a 51% premium to the company’s close on January 28, 2016. Abbott also assumed $2.6 billion of debt. The combination was expected to create a premier point-of-care testing business and to strengthen Abbott’s diagnostics presence. Alere’s main business is its point-of-care diagnostics and services, which are focused on the areas of infectious disease, cardio-metabolic disease, and toxicology. Point of care testing is a $5.5 billion segment, and one... Read More »

REITs Move in on Behavioral Health

by | Apr 13, 2017 5:20 pm | Behavioral Health Care

When it comes to health care, real estate investment trusts (REITs) typically target medical office buildings, which can be converted to other uses more easily than an acute-care hospital can. But some privately held hospitals and health systems are turning to REITs as a way to get cash out of a portfolio company, sometimes without exiting. Through April 2017, two deals have featured a REIT as hospital acquirers, compared with only one announced deal in 2016. Now, behavioral health hospitals are REIT targets. Ventas’ (NYSE: VTR) 2015 healthcare REIT spinoff, Care Capital Properties, Inc. (NYSE: CCP), recently moved into the behavioral health care sector. On April 10, the company... Read More »

Medical Device Deals Spring Back to Life

by | Apr 13, 2017 5:18 pm | Medical Devices

The Medical Device sector ended the first quarter of 2017 with 22 announced deals, almost even with Q4:16’s total of 23 deals, and down 29% from the year-ago quarter. But the lull may not last into the second quarter.  As of April 10, 2017, three medical device deals have been announced in Q2:17. On April 4th, Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE: BDX) acquired privately held Caesarea Medical Electronics (CME) for an undisclosed price. CME designs, manufactures and markets a range of infusion and syringe pumps, as well as related accessories and disposable administration sets for both home care and hospital settings. The acquisition expands BD’s infusion portfolio to include... Read More »

Investors Make Many, Many Small Bets in March 2017

by | Apr 13, 2017 5:10 pm | Healthcare Market Updates

They don’t call it March Madness for nothing. After a few months of slowing merger and acquisition activity, deal volume spiked back to 2016 levels. The 139 deals announced in March 2017 were only 4% below the 145 deals announced in March 2016, when healthcare M&A was barrelling along. Deal volume was 46% higher than the previous month’s 95 transactions, but that’s not a fair comparison. February is the shortest month, and March always seems to drag on and on. Besides, the early days of the Trump administration were (and still are) tempestuous, to say the least. March 2017’s increase in activity may be a signal that investors are just going to get on with their plans, or it may be they... Read More »