NORWALK, CONN. (PRWEB) JANUARY 21, 2020 –
Hospital merger and acquisition activity slowed in the fourth quarter of 2019, according to new acquisition data from HealthCareMandA.com. Twenty-three transactions were reported, a drop of 21% compared with the third quarter. Deal volume in the 2019 quarter bested the fourth quarter of 2018 by 10%. Dollar volume also declined compared with the third quarter, totaling $3.0 billion, a 43% decrease. Year over year, Q4:19 spending was up 150% versus the $1.2 billion reported in the same quarter in 2018.
Medical Properties Trust, a healthcare real estate investment trust, announced the largest deal in the quarter, by disclosed prices. The REIT paid more than $1.9 billion to acquire the real estate assets of 30 acute care hospitals in the United Kingdom, owned by BMI Healthcare. The transaction stemmed from the sale of BMI by Hospital Topco Limited to a smaller UK rival, Circle Health, for an undisclosed amount. Medical Properties Trust also acquired the real estate assets of 10 LifePoint Health hospitals in six states for $700 million. The REIT announced eight deals in 2019, paying some $5.7 billion to acquire 83 hospitals (4,365 beds) in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.
“The fourth quarter activity was notable for the growth of regional health systems,” stated Lisa E. Phillips, editor of the Health Care M&A Report, which publishes the data. “Two sizable systems joined even larger ones, in Florida and New Hampshire, while several large hospitals teamed up with bigger players in their regions. This will be the trend in 2020.”
All quarterly results are published in The Health Care M&A Report, which is part of the HealthCareMandA.com investment research source. For sector-specific research and analysis, please see The Hospital Acquisition Report 2019. For more information, or to order the reports, call 800-248-1668. Irving Levin Associates, Inc. was established in 1948 and has headquarters in Norwalk, Connecticut. The company publishes research reports and newsletters and maintains databases on the health care and senior housing M&A markets.
