Although private equity deals in healthcare hit record-highs during the COVID-19 pandemic, there were significantly fewer deals this year amid rising interest rates, inflation, and concerns about a potential recession, according to a new report from PitchBook.
According to data from Bain and Company, PE firms were at the top of almost all measures of growth in 2021, reaching new highs in global deal counts, exit values, and buyout capital raised. That same year, Pitchbook found that PE firms closed over 1,000 healthcare deals.
However, PE deals, along with healthcare mergers and acquisitions, have largely declined this year, the Advisory Board reports
According to PitchBook, around 164 deals were either recorded or announced last quarter — a 23% decline compared to the first quarter of the year and the sixth straight quarter of declining deals.
There were also fewer large platform deals, or initial acquisitions by PE firms. In the first quarter of 2023, there were seven platform deals, and in the second quarter, there were 11 platform deals. These numbers were the lowest of any quarter since 2017, excluding the second quarter of 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Read more.
