It’s been a busy year for healthcare deal making. As of December 2, the combined total spending was $239.1 billion, going to finance 1,419 transactions. That’s 40% behind the $400 billion spent in all of 2015, but just 7% behind last year’s deal volume of 1,520 deals.
Thirty-six deals of $1.0 billion or higher have been announced to date in 2016, with a current total of $184.2 billion. These deals comprise 77% of spending so far, and no doubt there will be a few more before New Year’s Eve. By comparison, 2015 ended with a combined total spending of $400.6 billion on 1,520 transactions. Fifty-two of those transactions reported spending of $1.0 billion or higher, for $331.4 billion, comprising 83% of the combined total.
The largest deal this year was in the Pharmaceutical sector, as Shire plc (NASDAQ: SHPG) announced its acquisition of Baxalta Inc. for $32.0 billion in January. That deal had been in the works since August 2015, when the healthcare M&A market was humming. This year’s second largest deal came from the Medical Device sector in April, as Abbott (NYSE: ABT) announced its acquisition of cardiac device maker St. Jude Medical (NYSE: STJ) for $30.7 billion.
Still, some of the typically quiet Services sectors snagged billion-dollar transactions. Thanks to two transactions, spending in the Physician Medical Group sector is now $12.8 billion for the year. The Long-Term Care sector, which has seen record spending in recent years, has posted three mega deals totaling nearly $3.4 billion, and a single deal in the Behavioral Health Care sector put it over the top, to more than $2.2 billion. We’ll have a full report next month.
