Healthcare M&A activity in Q1:24 held steady, with a total of 480 transactions, according to data captured in the LevinPro HC database. This figure is slightly lower than the 482 deals announced in the final quarter of 2024. However, it is a small 6% decline from the 509 reported in Q1:24.
The Physician Medical Group (PMG) sector drove much of the activity in the first quarter of the year, with 109 transactions. This is an 18% drop from Q1:24, when 133 PMG acquisitions were reported. The decline in activity reflects many investors’ belief that much of healthcare’s activity is shifting away from physician-driven transactions and seeking opportunities in other verticals. Dental, in Q1:25, was responsible for more than 45% of the PMG activity in the first quarter, with 50 transactions. Internal medicine and orthopaedics tied for the second busiest specialties with 10 acquisitions each. PMG companies with the most activity include MB2 Dental Solutions (seven deals), Heartland Dental (five deals) and Epiphany Dermatology (three deals).
eHealth was also rather busy with 77 reported transactions, a 22% increase from the 66 eHealth deals announced in Q1:24. This echoes the continued demand for technology-based services that many advisors have spoken with us over the last several months. The patient engagement and telehealth specialties were the most active, with 15 transactions each. Medical practice management software totaled 12 deals throughout the quarter.
NeuroFlow, based in Philadelphia, was the only buyer in the eHealth sector to have announced more than one transaction, two in total. It purchased Intermountain Health‘s analytics model as well as Quartet Health, a value-based behavioral health care enablement company that works with health plans, systems and provider groups.
Medical Outpatient Buildings (MOB) accounted for 49 transactions, highlighting continued interest in healthcare real estate assets. This represents essentially the same deal volume as the first quarter of 2024 when there were 48 MOB transactions. Montecito Medical Real Estate was the most active MOB buyer with 11 deals in the first quarter of 2025.
However, not all sectors saw such high demand in activity. The Hospital sector experienced a slowdown in dealmaking, with only 11 acquisitions announced. In the United States, there were two health system mergers (St. Luke’s University Health Network’s acquisition of Grand View Health and Prime Healthcare Services, Inc.’s acquisition of Central Maine Healthcare) and five deals targeting short-term acute care facilities. Novant Health, a health system based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, completed three deals in Q1:25.
The largest buyer type was private equity with 164 transactions. Real estate investment firms totaled 29 acquisitions and health systems totaled 11 deals.
Disclosed spending increased, totaling $66.06 billion Q1:25 across 90 transactions. This marks more than double the disclosed spending of Q4:24 and a small increase from the $65.2 billion announced in Q1:24.
The largest deal was Sycamore Partners’ $17,935 billion acquisition of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. Other transactions with a large price tag include Johnson & Johnson’s acquisition of Intra-Cellular Therapies for $14.6 billion; Clearlake Capital Group, L.P.’s acquisition of ModMed for $5.3 billion; and Stryker Corp.’s acquisition of Inari Medical, Inc. for $4.9 billion.
While overall healthcare M&A activity in Q1:25 remained steady, the quarter revealed notable shifts in sector and investor focus. The continued rise of eHealth and steady investment in medical real estate reflect growing interest in technology-enabled care and stable, income-generating assets.
