Nelson Advisors interviewed by Mergermarket discussing Healthcare M&A trends
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“The sector is in a flywheel of productivity with drivers including ageing populations, workforce shortages, and technology adoption,” Price said.
"People want to catch up to with the AI trends. Boards and CEOs are looking to buy a lot of tech and teams,” Price said, citing ambient voice technology as a strong trend.
Biopharma has undeniably been given a turbo-boost by a craze over GLP‑1 agonists for their weight loss effects as well as downstream protection from cardiovascular disease and diabetes, Price said. Patent cliffs in big pharma pipelines are also driving acquisitions of potential new blockbusters, he said.
Big pharma buyers especially have their eyes out for oncology, vaccines such as BioNTech's acquisition of CureVac, and cell therapy, Syrbe said. However, many assets seem overpriced relative to other life sciences sectors, he said.
Medical devices and equipment suppliers were an important driver of dealmaking as healthcare systems seek to cut labour costs and reduce massive elective care backlogs after the Covid-19 pandemic, Price said.
The healthcare backlog is also leading to growth in private healthcare clinics, which then need their own consumables, Price commented.
However, the stormy tariff and regulatory environment at the start of 2025 is also entering a period of relative confidence, Price said.
"We've had 18 months of surprises, so everyone's careful about making the wrong decision. But now the waters are calmer. What are we waiting for?" he said.
Financial sponsors are increasingly looking at assets capable of upselling and cross-selling to customers without needing to spend so much on marketing to new customers, Price said.
“Sponsors want cash flow. Every EUR 200,000 trimmed is EUR 1m of value at exit multiples,” Price said.
In mid-market deals especially, due diligence often takes longer than it did before, especially with market and competition checks amid shortening innovation adoption cycles, Price said.
Digital health is going expected to see big growth, with a few “blockbuster” health/digital health IPOs holding their prices. This rebuilds confidence in unit economics and profitability in public markets, Price said.
A weaker pound and euro vs the dollar makes European companies effectively cheaper for US buyers than compatriot assets, Price said. This combined with financial performance improvements is a major attraction right now, he said..