NORWALK, Conn., July 30, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Health care merger and acquisition activity soared in the second quarter of 2018. The number of deals announced reached 462, up 8% compared with the previous quarter, and 21% higher than the same quarter in 2017. Combined spending in the second quarter reached $144.5 billion, up 28% compared with the $112.9 billion spent in the previous quarter, and 47% higher than the $98.4 billion spent in the second quarter of 2017, according to HealthCareMandA.com (see attached chart).

Health care services represented 62% of the second quarter’s transaction total, lower than the 64% share reported in the previous quarter. The pace was set by the Long-Term Care sector, which posted 106 deals, its second-highest quarterly total ever. Growth was strong in other services sectors, including Behavioral Health Care (+91% compared with the year before), Home Health & Hospice (+75%), Managed Care (+125%), Physician Medical Groups (+61%) and Rehabilitation (+29%).

On the technology side, transaction growth was strong in the eHealth (+38% compared with the year before) and Pharmaceutical (+150%) sectors. The eHealth sector has grown beyond revenue cycle management and electronic health records to include telemedicine services for a range of patient populations, data analytics and remote monitoring systems for patients with chronic conditions.

Spending was affected by a single deal, Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.’s acquisition of Shire plc for $81.5 billion, including debt. That deal accounted for 56% of the quarter’s $144.5 billion total. The same was true in the first quarter of 2018, when Cigna announced its $67 billion deal for pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts Holdings. That deal made up 59% of the quarter’s $112.9 billion total.

“The healthcare market is benefiting from a growing economy, relatively cheap equity and even from the tariffs and talk of trade wars,” said Lisa E. Phillips, editor of HealthCareMandA.com. “Investors are eager to put their money to work in the United States, and healthcare services are as local as you can get.”

For more information on the HealthCareMandA.com investment research source, or for a membership to any of Irving Levin Associates’ services, please call 800-248-1668. Irving Levin Associates, Inc., established in 1948, is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut and is online at http://www.levinassociates.com. This privately held corporation publishes annual and quarterly research reports, monthly and weekly newsletters, and maintains merger and acquisition databases on the health care and senior housing markets. If you would like to receive future releases, please email pressreleases@levinassociates.com.

Lisa E. Phillips, Editor
Phone: (203) 846-6800

SOURCE HealthCareMandA.com