Healthcare merger and acquisition activity increased 18 percent in the third quarter of 2015 over the second quarter, according to Health Care M&A News, which is published by Irving Levin Associates Inc. of Norwalk.
There were 385 deals in the third quarter, up from 327 in the previous quarter. The 385 deals marked the highest number of transactions in any previous third quarter, according to a news release on the data.
Combined spending in the quarter hit $198.3 billion, a new record for all previous quarters. The total represents a 265 percent increase over the second quarter’s $54.3 billion, and an increase of 214 percent compared with the same quarter in 2014 ($63.2 billion), Health Care M&A News said.
Healthcare services represented 62 percent of the third quarter’s deals, slightly higher than the previous quarter (57 percent), as well as the same quarter in 2014 (55 percent).
Only one of the sectors, physician medical groups, posted a decline in transaction volume, while behavioral health care managed a 67 percent gain over the previous quarter.
On the technology side, transaction volume was strong in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors, up 21 percent and 11 percent, respectively, over the previous quarter.
