Top Deals in June 2015 Aren’t So Big

by | Jun 29, 2015 1:54 pm | Biotechnology, Laboratories, MRI & Dialysis, Pharmaceuticals

Healthcare M&A in June 2015 hasn’t been dead slow, but it certainly hasn’t kept pace with previous months’ totals. With 83 deals and $14.8 billion in spending, June 2015 lags far behind June 2014’s 120 transactions and $59.2 billion in spending. That said, we’re writing this on the day the U.S. Supreme Court found for the defendant (the Obama administration) in King v. Burwell, which means there could be a few very large deals announced between now and next week—particularly in the managed care sector, where the Big Five health insurers have already made plans to consolidate into the Big Three (see last week’s story in Health Care Deal News). For now, here are the five biggest deals... Read More »

The Old Irish Shuffle Play

by | Jun 15, 2015 7:42 pm | Laboratories, MRI & Dialysis, Pharmaceuticals

A bit of financial wheeling and dealing occurred last week, as Altan Pharma Limited, a privately held pharmaceutical company based in Dublin, Ireland, announced its acquisition of Madrid-based GES Group, which is comprised of GES Genéricos Españoles Laboratorio; Genfarma Laboratorio, S.L. and Biomendi, S.A.U. The price was €87.5 million ($98.3 million, approximately). What the announcement left out was that, on the same day, Dublin-based Malin plc invested €34.5 million ($38.9 million, approximately) to gain a 65% equity stake in Altan Pharma. While Altan is a central player to these transactions, it lacks a website, as well as a corporate address. But now it owns GES Group, which... Read More »

OPKO Health Buys Bio-Reference Labs

by | Jun 8, 2015 7:36 pm | Laboratories, MRI & Dialysis

OPKO Health (NYSE: OPK) may have posted a net loss of $244 million on a trailing 12-month basis, but it had the wherewithal to buy Bio-Reference Laboratories (NASDAQ: BRLI), one of the largest full-service diagnostic laboratories in the world. Bio-Reference provides clinical testing services to physician offices, clinics, hospitals, long-term care facilities and employers in more than 50 countries. OPKO plans to leverage the company’s the national marketing, sales and distribution resources to boost sales of its 4Kscore test, a blood test that evaluates a patient’s risk for aggressive prostate cancer. Under terms of the deal, BRLI stockholders will receive 2.75 shares of OPKO common... Read More »

Another Record Falls in Q1:15

by | Apr 4, 2015 3:19 pm | Behavioral Health Care, Biotechnology, Home Health & Hospice, Hospitals, Laboratories, MRI & Dialysis, Long-Term Care, Managed Care, Medical Devices, Other Services, Pharmaceuticals, Physician Medical Groups, Rehabilitation

Now that the month is officially over, we can report our preliminary Q1:15 results—and it was another record breaker, at least for transactions. The 346 deals logged so far are 109% higher than the first quarter of 2014. You would think that the $104.7 billion in combined spending would set another record, but no. In Q1:09, we tracked $127.2 billion spent on 202 deals. That’s when Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) bought Wyeth for $68 billion.  Here’s the preliminary breakdown of Q1:15 — and remember, the spending is only for deals that disclosed prices. Read More »

Ambry Genetics Completes Itself with Progeny

by | Apr 4, 2015 3:08 pm | Laboratories, MRI & Dialysis

Privately held Ambry Genetics, a clinical genetic diagnostics laboratory, wasn’t joking around when it acquired Progeny Software, LLC on April 1. Progeny Software has spent the last 15 years enhancing its software to manage all types of genetic data, from pedigrees, providing genotype management and analysis, or providing a full laboratory information management system (LIMS). The combination, for an undisclosed price, gives Ambry the ammo to call itself a complete genetics services company “on the forefront of personalized medicine.” Don’t say we didn’t warn you. Read More »