Healthcare merger and acquisition activity ticked up in the second quarter of 2016, reports Triangle Business Journal.
That finding comes from a report by Irving Levin Associates, which publishes its quarterly findings in The Health Care M&A Report.
Here are six report findings.
1. Compared with the first quarter of 2016, deal volume increased 11 percent in the second quarter to 396 transactions. Compared with the same quarter in 2015, deal volume was up 15 percent.
2. In the first half of 2016, 754 healthcare transactions have taken place, compared to 721 deals for the same period in 2015.
3. There were 22 hospital transactions publicly announced in the second quarter, a 19 percent decrease compared to the previous quarter. There were 49 hospital deals in the first half of 2016 compared to 48 deals in the first half of 2015.
4. Total healthcare M&A spending in the second quarter reached $88.2 billion, up from $80.7 billion in the previous quarter.
5. Healthcare services represented 60 percent of the transactions in the second quarter. Deal volume in behavioral healthcare sectors increased 183 percent from the same period in 2015, to 17 transactions.
6. On the technology side, transaction growth outpaced first quarter results in three sectors: Biotechnology, eHealth and pharmaceuticals. Irving Levin predicts that "the growing emphasis on benchmarking and population health management, not to mention revenue cycle management and electronic health records, will keep this sector growing for several more quarters," according to Triangle Business Journal.