Healthcare M&A Activity Increases 7% in Q3:25

NEW CANAAN, Conn., Oct. 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Healthcare merger and acquisition activity increased in the third quarter of 2025, with 532 deals announced, according to new acquisition data from LevinPro HC. Activity in Q3:25 was 7% higher than the 495 deals announced in the second quarter, and 3% higher than the 512 deals announced in Q3:24.

The most active sector for M&A during the quarter was Physician Medical Groups (PMG), which had 130 deal announcements, making up nearly a quarter of all Q3 healthcare transactions. The dental specialty alone had 66 deal announcements, accounting for more than 50% of all PMG deal announcements during the quarter.

The eHealth sector was the second most active with 83 deal announcements. Within eHealth, medical practice management software was the most active specialty with 18 deals, while analytics came in second with 14 deals and revenue cycle management and telehealth tied for third with 13 deals.

With 43 deal announcements in Q3:25, activity in the Other Services sector was equal to the 43 deals announced during the previous quarter. However, the Other Services sector saw a 36% decline from the 67 deals announced in Q3:24. Subsectors like health clinics, life sciences buildings, medical transport services and urgent care saw deal totals dip year over year, contributing to this decline.

Activity in the Behavioral Health Care and Home Health & Hospice sectors dipped slightly in Q3 2025, down 7% and 15% from the previous quarter, respectively. Despite the more recent decline, these sectors continue to benefit from persistent tailwinds that have fueled robust year-over-year gains of 67% and 22%, respectively. More and more patients are seeking alternatives to facility-based care, turning toward home health services. Meanwhile, surging demand for substance use disorder and mental health treatment continues to attract investment in behavioral health care. Laboratories, MRI and Dialysis experienced a modest decline, with 31 deals announced during the third quarter, a 6% decrease from the prior quarter.

The Hospital sector saw a slight increase, with 16 deal announcements in the third quarter of 2025, compared to 12 announced during Q2:25. The largest hospital deal of the quarter is CHRISTUS Health's $71 million sale of CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Hospital – Medical Center to University Health System. This four-story, 236,000-square-foot acute care hospital, built in 1986, was closed in April 2025 as CHRISTUS consolidated care into nearby hospitals within its network.

The Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical sectors showed mixed results in Q3:25, with Biotechnology deal activity rising 10% from the previous quarter, while Pharmaceutical deals dipped by 8%. Year over year, activity in the Biotechnology sector increased 7% from Q3:24 levels, while Pharmaceutical activity decreased 37%. The largest deal across both markets during the quarter was Merck & Co., Inc.'s $10 billion acquisition of Verona Pharma.

Deal value in the third quarter totaled $63.8 billion, a 111% increase compared with the $30.2 billion spent across 78 deals with disclosed prices in the second quarter. Spending in Q3:25 was also 36% higher than the $47 billion across 122 deals disclosed in Q3:24. The largest deal by purchase price was Waters Corporation’s $17.5 billion acquisition of BD's Biosciences & Diagnostic Solutions business.

“There are still headwinds in the healthcare M&A market, but the 7% uptick to 532 deals in Q3 is a welcome sign of resilience,” said Avery Swett, Editorial Analyst at Irving Levin Associates, which publishes M&A data on its LevinPro HC platform. “Those challenges are pushing providers toward strategic consolidations with private equity or larger health systems for scale and stability. Looking ahead, we expect sustained activity in the lower- to middle-market segments heading into Q4.”

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 or visit www.levinassociates.com. 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.

* To receive this press release via email, send a message to pressreleases@levinassociates.com

Legal Disclaimer:

EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.