Healthcare M&A levels buoyant say Catalyst
THE demand for high quality healthcare businesses remains strong with M&A activity levels during the first half of 2013 proving to be good, latest data has suggested.
Catalyst Corporate Finance said the sector had seen resilient trading, robust systems and strong customer relationships during the first six months and these were set to continue attracting interest throughout the rest of 2013.
Activity levels held up despite the number of deals in the sector falling during the period. This has been attributed to the acquisition of serial acquirer Enara by MITIE, which was responsible for seven deals in the same period in 2012.
Catalyst said its research had also shown high growth and high margins in Facilities Management (FM) companies moving into the market. It said this had created an increased buyer pool for businesses, which would be reflected in increasing deal flow in the sector.
Specialist care providers are said to be particularly attractive as the sector reacts to economic and socio-political changes.
Healthcare technology is also seen to be gaining momentum with some corporates using this as part of their strategy to combine technology with a clinical offering.
From a funding perspective, it said mid-market private equity had continued to be active and would remain so as long as the demand for healthcare services increased.
Catalyst said it had concluded that high quality providers were achieving high valuations with levels recovering to those seen in 2007.
Justin Crowther, head of healthcare at Catalyst and author of the report, said: “The delivery of healthcare is changing and creating significant opportunities for private providers across the sector. With increased interest from both FM and private equity, owners of private healthcare providers could find themselves as a target. For those considering a sale in the near future the buyer pool is now greater, all of which combined means it could be the right time to consider a sale and the right time to achieve the price you desire.”
