Q4:15 Health Care M&A Results Are In

by | Jan 22, 2016 8:18 pm | Healthcare Market Updates

It’s hard to see a total of 370 deals in one quarter as a disappointment, but it may be, for some. That’s the current total of health care transactions we have for the last three months of 2015. Compared with the third quarter, however, the fourth quarter deal volume dropped almost 10%. Deal volume in Q3:15 has reached 409 deals, topping the 400-transaction mark for the first time ever. Healthcare services made up a robust 67% of the deal volume in Q4:15, the segment’s strongest showing in the previous four quarters. Thanks to the mega-deals in the Pharmaceutical segment, spending for the fourth quarter was $202.0 billion, up 1% compared with the third quarter’s... Read More »
J&J Slices Its Medical Device Division

J&J Slices Its Medical Device Division

by | Jan 21, 2016 9:12 pm | Medical Devices

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) announced the restructuring of its medical devices business on January 19, 2016. Its 8K filing noted pre-tax restructuring charges of $2.0 billion to $2.4 billion, expected to be incurred this year, as well as a Q4:15 charge of approximately $600 million. About 4% to 6% of the division’s global workforce will get walking papers over the next two years, resulting in a $500 million charge for severance. On a more upbeat note, JNJ expects to see annualized pre-tax cost savings of $800 million to $1.0 billion. This move comes as the market for medical devices has slowed, particularly in the United States. As one of many cost-cutting measures, U.S.... Read More »
Jefferson Expands Again

Jefferson Expands Again

by | Jan 20, 2016 9:05 pm | Hospitals

Aria Health, a not-for-profit hospital system serving the residents of northeast Philadelphia and lower Bucks County, reached a definitive agreement with Jefferson, the system created last year through the merger of Jefferson Health and Abington Health. That transaction, announced in January 2015 and finalized in May, created an organization with five hospitals, 1,751 inpatient beds, seven outpatient centers and 3,370 physicians. This transaction with Aria adds three hospitals in Frankford, Torresdale and Oxford Valley with 485 licensed beds. Aria also holds an option to develop property on a 41-acre farm in Lower Makefield, Pennsylvania. Under terms of the agreement, Aria will be... Read More »
Managed Care Consolidation in Minnesota

Managed Care Consolidation in Minnesota

by | Jan 19, 2016 8:48 pm | Managed Care

Even as Minnetonka, Minnesota-based UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) reported larger-than-expected losses in its health-exchange segment in the fourth quarter, a smaller Minnesota managed care company found relief from its own health exchange losses. PreferredOne, based in Golden Valley, was acquired by Fairview Health Services in Minneapolis for an undisclosed price. Fairview is a not-for-profit, integrated health system that has partnered with the University of Minnesota. PreferredOne serves more than 1,500 employers and 285,000 members. The company enjoyed dramatic growth in the first year that the state’s healthcare exchange, MNsure, opened, but it was forced to drop out in 2015... Read More »