Roche Acquires Spark Therapeutics, Inc. in Another Large Biotech Deal

Roche Acquires Spark Therapeutics, Inc. in Another Large Biotech Deal

It’s been a busy year for the biotechnology sector so far, and this week continued the trend. Roche (SIX: RO), the global pharmaceuticals and diagnostics company, acquired Spark Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: ONCE) for $4.3 billion. At $114.50 per share, the price represents a 122% premium to Spark’s closing price on February 22, 2019, and a 19% premium to Spark’s high share price on July 9, 2018. Founded in 2013, Spark Therapeutics develops gene therapies for genetic diseases, including blindness, hemophilia, lysosomal storage disorders, and neurodegenerative diseases. Spark will continue operations in Philadelphia as an independent company under Roche. The deal gives Roche key... Read More »
Home Health & Hospice Is Primed for Consolidation

Home Health & Hospice Is Primed for Consolidation

The Home Health & Hospice sector is far less fragmented than it was just five years ago. The sector has seen a lot of activity, thanks to the push by payors to move patients towards lower-cost post-acute care settings. That has attracted a lot of investor interest in recent years, and 2018 proved to be a watershed moment as the large-market private equity firms moved in to acquire or build national platforms. Deals by publicly traded companies have changed the sector in significant ways, too. Some merged, such as LHC Group (NASDAQ: LHCG) and Almost Family, Inc. have morphed to focus more on home health than other services, such as Encompass Health Corp. (NYSE: EHC), formerly known as... Read More »
Robotic Surgery Firm Auris Health Goes to Johnson & Johnson

Robotic Surgery Firm Auris Health Goes to Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) announced it will acquire Auris Health, Inc., a privately held developer of robotic technologies. J&J will pay $3.5 billion upfront and $2.35 billion in milestones under the terms of the agreement. This is J&J’s first acquisition in the medical device sector since 2016, when it bought Abbott Medical Optics from Abbott (NYSE: ABT). Auris Health’s technology focuses on lung cancer, with an FDA-cleared platform currently used in bronchoscopic diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. This acquisition will accelerate J&J’s entry into robotics with potential to expand into other interventional applications. Robotic technology deals... Read More »
Behavioral Health Care Deal Trends in 2017

Behavioral Health Care Deal Trends in 2017

The Behavioral Health Care sector has enjoyed growing interest from private equity and other investors in recent years. Federal legislation regarding coverage of mental health conditions certainly boosted that interest, as has the growing public acceptance of the magnitude of need for services. Also, the fragmented nature of this sector has kept platform-building acquisitions rather low. From a focus standpoint, behavioral health care covers mental health issues, as well as substance abuse, eating disorders, autism spectrum services and care for individuals with developmental disabilities. Co-morbidities often exist, particularly between mental health and substance abuse conditions. Then... Read More »
Private Equity Feeds RCM Growth

Private Equity Feeds RCM Growth

Revenue cycle management companies remain a strong investment opportunity for financial buyers. As of Mid-September 2017, 52% of RCM targets were acquired by private equity firms or other PE-backed eHeath companies.  One Georgia-based RCM firm continues to thrive following an investment from Bain Capital. In June 2016, Bain Capital acquired Navicure Inc. for an undisclosed price. Navicure provides cloud-based claims management and patient payment solutions for physician practices and hospitals. Its revenue cycle management platform served approximately 90,000 U.S. providers at the time of the deal. Fast forward to September 2017, Navicure now serves more than 100,000 providers. On... Read More »