Abbott’s $23 billion acquisition of Exact Sciences positions the company to become a major player in cancer diagnostics. Experts think the deal makes strategic sense, as it offers higher margins and a broader commercial scale — but questions remain about long-term growth amid rising competition and the challenges of integrating a patient-focused, tech-heavy business.
Datavant acquired Ontellus, a health records retrieval and claims intelligence company. This establishes a legal and insurance vertical to go along with Datavant’s three other verticals: payers, providers and life sciences firms.
Hospital M&A activity slowed quite a bit in the first half of 2025, with deal volume and transacted revenue falling sharply amid economic uncertainty and sweeping policy changes. While traditional mergers may remain sluggish, analysts expect a rise in outpatient partnerships and rural hospital conversions toward the end of the year.
Samsung announced plans to acquire Xealth, a startup that helps hospitals integrate digital tools into clinical workflows, as part of its broader push into U.S. healthcare. The deal reflects growing provider demand for tech solutions and comes amid newfound optimism in the digital health exit market.
Digital health funding held steady in the first half of 2025, with AI-focused startups capturing the majority of capital and driving rapid adoption among providers. The digital health space also saw two long-awaited IPOs as well as rising M&A activity, which are two signals of market maturity — but looming policy shifts may challenge long-term growth.
Nordic Capital acquired a majority stake in health data platform Arcadia. Together, the two aim to accelerate the company’s mission of advancing value-based care through AI and data analytics. Arcadia CEO Michael Meucci views the deal as both a validation of the company’s strategy and part of a broader wave of healthcare investments focused on interoperability, AI and payment reform.
Application rationalization shouldn’t be a cleanup project — it should be a pillar of the M&A investment thesis, with clear ROI tied to cost savings, risk mitigation, and innovation readiness.
There were only five hospital M&A transactions during the first quarter of 2025 — a slump caused the Trump administration’s flurry of new policies and the resulting economic uncertainty. Hospitals are putting off mergers for the time being, though some are forming joint ventures as a defense mechanism against financial uncertainty. Many are instead shedding assets to cope with the current macroeconomic environment.
Two hospital-at-home providers, DispatchHealth and Medically Home, announced their plan to merge. Once combined, the company will provide in-home care across 50 major metropolitan areas and partner with nearly 40 health systems.
Beyond the branded products currently sold by Mallinckrodt and Endo, the companies say the combined business will also have a strong foundation in rare and orphan diseases. Generic medicines will be spun out as a separate company.
The MedTech industry has demonstrated remarkable resilience in navigating uncertainty, and 2025 promises to be a pivotal year as the election supercycle concludes and AI regulatory frameworks become clearer.
This year will likely see a high rate of divesture among hospital M&A deals, according to Anu Singh, managing director at Kaufman Hall. He also predicted that health systems will continue to pursue partnerships with a broader array of organizations, such as payers and venture firms, to solve challenges.
Belgian sleep diagnostics company Sunrise announced the acquisition of Dreem Health, a California-based sleep clinic. This has allowed Sunrise to provide its telehealth-based sleep care in California, Iowa, Maryland and Washington, with plans to be available nationwide next year.
Experts agree that the incoming Trump administration will likely shake things up in the prescription drug world — most notably when it comes to research and development, drug pricing and PBM reform.
After several quarters with little to no exit activity in the medtech space, several startups made exits in the second quarter of 2024, according to a new report.