A total of $112.9 billion was spent to fund the 386 transactions reported in Q1:18, based on disclosed prices. Total spending was about 2% lower than the $115.1 billion reported in the previous quarter.
The Other Services sector dominated the dollar side of deal making, accounting for 60% ($68.2 billion) of spending. A single deal accounted for 59% of the quarter’s total, as Cigna (NYSE: CI) announced its acquisition of Express Scripts Holdings (NYSE: ESRX) for $67 billion, including debt.
Source: HealthCareMandA.com, April 2018
The Biotechnology sector made up 28% ($31.2 billion) of spending in the first quarter. Many of the deals were front-loaded into January, so their announcements coincided with the Biotechnology conference that accompanies the annual J.P.Morgan Healthcare conference, held in San Francisco.
The rest of the healthcare sectors were relegated to single-digit shares of the first quarter’s spending pie. The eHealth ($3.9 billion) and Pharmaceutical ($3.0 billion) sectors contributed 3% of the quarter’s total, followed by the Long-Term Care ($1.7 billion, 2%) and Medical Device ($2.3 billion, 2%) sectors.
