Healthcare Deals 2024 in Review

In 2024, the Private Equity Stakeholder Project (PESP) tracked 1,049 private equity-backed healthcare deals in the US, a 7.6% decrease from 2023. While overall activity was subdued due to high interest rates and regulatory scrutiny, dental care saw a 10.3% increase in deals. The report highlights the prevalence of 'add-on acquisitions'—which accounted for nearly 60% of deals—as a strategy to avoid antitrust scrutiny. PESP notes risks associated with this model, including higher prices, reduced quality of care, and increased bankruptcies in physician practice management. The document also identifies a growing trend of private equity firms using joint ventures with nonprofit health systems to expand market access. It concludes by urging state and federal policymakers to lower reporting thresholds for mergers and acquisitions and implement robust change-of-ownership regulations.

• Private equity healthcare deal activity in the US decreased slightly in 2024, with PESP identifying 1,049 unique deals, representing a 7.6% drop from the 1,135 deals tracked in 2023.
• Add-on acquisitions, where a private equity firm uses a platform company to acquire other companies, were the most common deal type in 2024, comprising nearly 60% of all tracked deals.
• Dental care was the most active subsector in 2024 with 161 deals, marking a 10.3% increase over 2023. Over half of the most active platform companies in 2024 operated in the dental care sector.
• The outpatient care sector experienced a significant slowdown, with 139 deals in 2024, a 28.7% decrease from the 195 deals tracked in 2023, attributed to high interest rates and regulatory uncertainty.
• Private equity firms are increasingly utilizing joint ventures with nonprofit health systems to gain access to trusted brands and geographic markets while potentially evading antitrust scrutiny.
• Behavioral health deal activity rose by 47.7% in 2024, with 65 deals tracked compared to 44 in 2023, driven by high demand and fragmented markets.
• Pharma services emerged as a high-growth area for private equity, with 80 deals in 2024, particularly in the clinical trials industry where firms seek to roll up sites for profit.
• Private equity ownership in healthcare is linked to negative outcomes, including a 25.4% increase in hospital-acquired conditions following acquisitions and a rise in healthcare bankruptcies.
• The report recommends that federal authorities amend the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act to lower the dollar threshold for pre-merger reviews to capture more private equity-backed acquisitions.

APA

Private Equity Stakeholder Project (2025). Healthcare Deals 2024 in Review. https://pestakeholder.org/reports/healthcare-deals-2024-in-review/

Chicago

Private Equity Stakeholder Project. Healthcare Deals 2024 in Review. 2025. https://pestakeholder.org/reports/healthcare-deals-2024-in-review/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Private Equity Stakeholder Project |title=Healthcare Deals 2024 in Review |date=20 February 2025 |url=https://pestakeholder.org/reports/healthcare-deals-2024-in-review/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{privateequitystakeholderproject2025healthcare, author = {{Private Equity Stakeholder Project}}, title = {{Healthcare Deals 2024 in Review}}, institution = {Private Equity Stakeholder Project}, year = {2025}, month = feb, url = {https://pestakeholder.org/reports/healthcare-deals-2024-in-review/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }