Healthcare Quarterly M&A Volume Decreases in Q4:25, According to Acquisition Data from LevinPro HC

NEW CANAAN, Conn., Jan. 14, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Healthcare M&A activity dropped in the fourth quarter of 2025, with 530 transactions announced, according to new acquisition data from LevinPro HC. The activity in the fourth quarter marks a 5% decrease from Q3:25, when 558 acquisitions were reported, but a 5% increase from the fourth quarter of 2024, when 503 deals were announced.

In total, there were 2,139 transactions announced in 2025, a roughly 4% increase from 2,059 in 2024. The sectors that emerged as the largest drivers of deal volume in 2025 were Physician Medical Groups (PMG) (518 deals), Medical Outpatient Buildings (MOB) (230 deals), eHealth (299 deals), Laboratories, MRI and Dialysis (135 deals) and Home Health & Hospice (110 deals).

The PMG sector also led Q4:25's deal volume with 138 transactions. This is on par with Q3:25 (137 deals) but marks a 20% increase from Q4:24 (115 deals). Fueled by significant patient demand and a plethora of consolidation opportunities, dental accounted for most of the PMG activity with 52 deals, for a total of 248 announced throughout the year. Orthopaedic and OB/GYN represent the next most active specialties, with nine acquisitions each.

Deal volume was also high in the MOB sector, with 64 acquisitions, a slight decrease from the 67 reported in Q3:25 and a larger decline from the 71 announced in Q4:24. Investors who announced multiple acquisitions include Montecito Medical Real Estate (five deals), Crown MedRealty Partners (four deals) and Four Corners Property Trust (three deals).

Disclosed spending reached more than $120.2 billion across 98 transactions, nearly doubling the more than $68.1 billion disclosed in Q3:25 and bringing the yearly total to more than $279.3 billion across 401 transactions. The largest purchase price of the quarter was Abbott’s $21 billion acquisition of Exact Sciences Corp., a provider of cancer screening and diagnostic tests.

Private Equity (PE) firms, including their portfolio companies, accounted for the largest share of buyers, with 153 acquisitions, or approximately 29%. Year over year, PE activity fell almost 14%, from 176 deals in Q4:24. However, quarter over quarter, PE interest remained essentially unchanged, with 153 deals announced in Q3. 

Health systems reported 40 transactions in the fourth quarter, a 60% increase from the 25 announced in Q3:25 and a 21% increase from the 33 announced in Q4:24. Amid a difficult operating environment, health systems were still looking to expand their network, announcing 18 Hospital deals in Q4:25. Health system investors also showed interest in the PMG space (10 deals) and general outpatient care (six deals).

In the fourth quarter, REITs announced 13 transactions while real estate investment firms announced 28.

Driven by rising patient demand for outpatient services, Proactive MD, the most active buyer of the quarter, announced 13 deals, representing 56% of its activity for the entire year. Other active buyers, regardless of sector, include Imagen Dental Partners (six deals), MB2 Dental Solutions (five deals), Montecito Medical Real Estate (five deals) and Smile Partners USA (six deals).

“Despite concerns that the government shutdown could hamper M&A activity, the fourth quarter ended 2025 off on a strong note,” said Kate Humphrey, Editorial Analyst at Irving Levin Associates, which publishes the data on its LevinPro HC platform. “With two interest rate cuts announced in the fourth quarter, the market has shifted towards a more favorable deal environment that is projected to fuel consolidation. Going forward, we anticipate high activity in tech-forward spaces like eHealth as well as the outpatient and real estate markets.”

All quarterly results are published in The Health Care M&A Report, which is part of LevinPro HC, a research intelligence platform published by Irving Levin Associates, LLC. For information or to order the reports, call 800-248-1668. Irving Levin Associates is celebrating more than 70 years of delivering exclusive M&A intelligence to its sophisticated audience of seniors housing and healthcare investors. The company was established in 1948 and has offices in New Canaan, Connecticut and North Bethesda, Maryland. The company publishes research reports and newsletters and maintains databases on the healthcare and senior housing M&A markets.

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