Healthcare Deal Volume Got a Jump Start in January

Healthcare Deal Volume Got a Jump Start in January

January was a fairly busy month for healthcare M&A. Preliminary data shows 133 deals reported, nearly equal to December’s 136. The momentum coming out of the fourth quarter spilled into the new year and even without a big boost in deal announcements from the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, consolidation in the industry seems to be going full steam ahead. And yet. Compared with the 151 deals announced a year ago, M&A is off by 12%. Granted, we don’t see that many deals on a monthly basis, which makes for a hard comp here. But as we swing into February, deal flow has slowed noticably. It could be temporary, as investors take stock of the economic and political landscape and... Read More »
Hospital M&A: Bigger Isn’t Always Better

Hospital M&A: Bigger Isn’t Always Better

That was the week that was. Two huge hospital mergers came to an end, one successfully and the other, not. In announcing the end results, CEOs involved in those deals each emphasized their goal was not about “getting bigger,” but to deliver better health care to more patients. Seriously, what CEO is going to say they just need more facilities to boost the bottom line and don’t care about patients? First, the deal that crossed the finish line. For 15 months, Catholic Health Initiatives and Dignity Health negotiated the details of the definitive agreement they signed in December 2017. The deal closed on February 1, creating one of the largest not-for-profit health systems in the country with... Read More »