Healthcare M&A Activity Surges in Q2

Buoyed by the addition of two blockbuster deals, the dollar value of healthcare services mergers and acquisitions tripled during the second quarter of 2012 compared with M&A activity during the comparable quarter in 2011, according to Norwalk, CT-based Irving Levin Associates Inc., which publishes a quarterly report on M&A activity in the healthcare industry.

Healthcare services, which includes physician groups, hospitals, and managed care, recorded 133 transactions valued at $23.1 billion in second quarter 2012 compared with 139 transactions valued at $7.3 billion for second quarter 2011.

The 2012 numbers, however, include a blockbuster $3.9 billion deal that involved two German hospital companies, Fresenius and Rhoen-Klinikuma. (Levin Associates includes foreign transactions in its M&A report, but these usually show up only in the medical device, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical categories.)

Omitting that mega-deal still pegs the value of healthcare services M&A at $19.2 billion, which is more than double the 2011 value.