Most publicly traded hospital companies took a hit on their investments beginning in the third quarter of last year, leading to a dip in the number of transactions in the fourth quarter and few big transactions, according to acquisition data from Irving Levin Associates.
There were 31 percent fewer hospital acquisitions announced in the fourth quarter than in third quarter of 2015. Fourth-quarter deals were also down 29 percent year over year.
Although there were more hospital transactions announced in 2015 than the year prior, there were few big hospital deals announced last year. "Most transactions involved smaller, community-based hospitals," said Lisa Phillips, editor of the Health Care M&A Report.
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