Healthcare & Life Sciences Industry Update - Q4 2021

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Healthcare & Life Sciences Industry Update - Q4 2021

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Healthcare M&A activity hit record levels in both the fourth quarter and full year of 2021

March 21, 2022

The S&P 500 index increased 26.9% in 2021, while healthcare underperformed, jumping an average of 13.9% across all subsectors. The broader market “shook off” an ongoing pandemic and news around new variants, supply chain disruptions, inflationary concerns, and reports that the Federal Reserve would move on multiple interest rate hikes in 2022.

Key Insights:

  • Physician practice management was once again the most active sector in the fourth quarter, with a surprising 142 transactions versus 98 a year ago
  • Transaction volume in this sector was impacted by the closing of deals that had been put on hold during the pandemic and sellers scrambling to complete their transactions in 2021 ahead of what they thought would be a capital gains tax rate increase that never transpired
  • Telemedicine deal activity tumbled as deal volume was likely impacted by concerns about patients returning for live visits post-pandemic