Tower Health Adds Urgent Care and ASC Deals

Tower Health Adds Urgent Care and ASC Deals

Tower Health, a six-hospital system across southeastern Pennsylvania, is growing its network rather aggressively lately. On October 2, it announced the acquisition of Premier Urgent Care, which runs 19 urgent care centers in Pennsylvania and Delaware. A week earlier, it reported a new joint venture with United Surgical Partners International (USPI), part of Tenet Healthcare (NYSE: THC). Tower Health is the new name for the former Reading Health System, based in West Reading, Pennsylvania. Until May 2017, the system consisted of Reading Hospital, which housed a cancer institute, a cardiac center, a rehabilitation hospital and a physician network of more than 1,000 physicians. On May 30 of... Read More »
Q2:18 Health Care Deal Volume and Value Explode

Q2:18 Health Care Deal Volume and Value Explode

What a quarter it was. Even with preliminary data, the numbers of deals and dollars spent in the second quarter of 2018 are impressive. The quarter began with a bang in April (176 deals), settled in May (136 deals) and slowed in June (122 deals). That still adds up to 432 transactions reported in the second quarter, up 1% compared with the first quarter, and 13% better than the same quarter in 2017. The Services sectors accounted for 59% of the deal volume in Q1:18, five percentage points lower than in the previous quarter, and three percentage points lower than Q2:17. The Long-Term Care sector, which turned in 47 deals in April alone, posted gains of 28% compared with Q1:18 and 33%... Read More »
U.S. Hospital Transaction Trends, at Mid-Year

U.S. Hospital Transaction Trends, at Mid-Year

It just might be “the pause that refreshes.” Or it could be the beginning of a painful contraction in the hospital market. In the first five months of 2018, 34 deals—representing definitive agreements and closures—have been announced. That’s the same number reported in the first five months of 2017. The difference lies behind the number of deals, of course. In the first five months of 2017, several large hospital systems merged or were acquired. Among the deals were Mississippi Baptist Health System (four hospitals) and Baptist Memorial Health (17 hospitals); IASIS Healthcare (17 hospitals) and Steward Health Care (18 hospitals); and Steward Health’s acquisition of eight hospitals from... Read More »
PE Firms Join to Form Home Health Care Giant

PE Firms Join to Form Home Health Care Giant

Consolidation isn’t a novel concept in the healthcare market, although it has been slow to arrive for some. The Home Health & Hospice sector has experienced a few jolts in the past six months, as three publicly traded giants merged or were split up. Now the private equity side has sent a shock wave through this sector, pulling together three separate platform companies into a major contender. Blue Wolf Capital Partners, which has backed both Great Lakes Caring and National Home Health Care for the past two years, joined with Kelso & Company to acquire Jordan Health Services from Palladium Equity Partners, LLC. Financial terms were not disclosed. Upon closing the transaction... Read More »
U.S. Hospital Transaction Trends, at Mid-Year

Hospital M&A Held Steady in Q4:17

Despite a weak third quarter, the Hospital sector’s merger and acquisition activity stayed relatively consistent, with deal volume ranging between 20 and 23 deals per quarter. The fourth quarter of 2017 posted 21 transactions, accounting for 27% of the 78 announced in the prior 12 months. Deal volume was up 40% compared with the previous quarter, but 9% lower than the same quarter in 2016. Some of the activity has been fueled by divestitures by the publicly traded companies, Community Health Systems (NYSE: CYH), Quorum Health (NYSE: QHC), and Tenet Healthcare (NYSE: THC). All are trying to lower their debt load, and for Community Health and Tenet, activist shareholders are demanding more... Read More »