HealthExec January 11, 2021
The COVID crisis has shushed but not silenced hospitals’ talks on mergers and acquisitions in 2020. In fact, there are signs the pandemic may be spurring rather than slowing such deals.
The findings and observation are from the healthcare management advisory firm KaufmanHall, which has released an analysis of last year’s M&A activity involving hospitals and health systems, along with a forecast for 2021.
The year just past saw 79 announced transactions. While that count represents a substantial drop from 2019’s 92, it’s not as far off the 10-year par as might have been expected.
And while COVID-19 has almost certainly played a role in dampening deals, it may also have inspired some creative thinking around strategic partnerships and tactical...