NEW CANAAN, CONN. (PRWEB) JULY 22, 2021 – According to new acquisition data from Irving Levin Associates, LLC, eHealth merger and acquisition activity dipped slightly while posting higher transaction dollars in the second quarter of 2021. There were 90 transactions announced in the second quarter, a 13% decrease compared with the previous quarter’s 103 deals. Deal volume was up 79% compared with Q2:20 when 51 transactions were announced. 25 deals disclosed a price in the second quarter, totaling $38.2 billion, which indeed surpasses the $21.3 billion announced over 19 deals for the first quarter. In Q2:20, the sector posted $606.7 million in disclosed spending, displaying a dramatic year-over-year difference.
“Although it was a slight drop in deal volume, the market remains strong. Demand for telehealth providers has faltered a little, but that was expected after a huge surge last year. Instead, we’re seeing increased demand for firms specializing in workflow and clinical solutions that lighten the administrative burden on providers,” said Dylan Sammut, Editor of Healthcare at Irving Levin Associates. “After a rough year dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic, providers are leaning on digital health firms and specialized cloud platforms to simplify an increasingly complex healthcare industry so they can focus more on patient care.”
Although Microsoft announced a mega-deal for Nuance Communications, Inc. valued at $19.7 billion, private equity really drove activity, accounting for 32% of deal volume. Notable firms such as KKR & Co. L.P. and BlackRock, Inc. made investments into eHealth companies last quarter, looking to use these firms as foundations for aggressive expansions into the sector.
“Private equity usually focuses on building regional and national provider networks, such as physician groups, but now they’re seeing major opportunities in the eHealth market,” continued Sammut. “Digital health solutions are very scalable, so a PE firm can invest some capital and resources to expand one of these companies and quickly have a serious competitor in a market filled with a client base of major health systems and national healthcare providers.”
All quarterly results are published in The Health Care M&A Report, which is part of the Irving Levin Associates and LevinPro investment research source. For more information, or to order the reports, call 800-248-1668. Irving Levin Associates is celebrating more than 70 years of delivering exclusive M&A intelligence to its sophisticated audience of seniors housing and healthcare investors. The company was established in 1948 and has offices in New Canaan, Connecticut and North Bethesda, Maryland. The company publishes research reports and newsletters and maintains databases on the healthcare and senior housing M&A markets.
