Healthcare mergers and acquisitions are in no short supply as providers, health tech companies, payers and other industry players look to expand their businesses and gain a competitive edge. Here’s a roundup of new deals that were revealed, closed, rumored or called off during the month of December.
Provider
City of Hope will be acquiring Cancer Treatment Centers of America in a bid to form a national, integrated cancer research and treatment system. The transaction is expected to close in the earlier part of 2022, after which City of Hope plans to turn the Cancer Treatment Centers of America into a nonprofit. While the organizations did not disclose financial details regarding the acquisition, reports place the deal's valuation at $390 million.
Tenet Healthcare and subsidiary United Surgical Partners International have wrapped up a deal to acquire SurgCenter Development’s ambulatory surgical center business for approximately $1.2 billion. The purchase, announced in early November, will transfer a portfolio that includes a controlling interest in 92 ambulatory surgery centers. Tenet said it plans to buy the centers’ remaining equity in the coming months and will also have the exclusive option to obtain ownership of at least 50 soon-to-come centers in the coming years.
LifePoint Health announced the completion of its Kindred Healthcare acquisition and the accompanying launch of ScionHealth, a new 79-hospital system comprised of 61 Kindred long-term acute care hospitals and 18 LifePoint community hospitals. LifePoint announced the purchase back in June alongside a three-year, $1.5 billion investment into Kindred’s businesses and workforce. The companies updated that game plan in October to carve out ScionHealth as a separate entity.
Inspira Health has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Salem Medical Center. The deal is pending regulatory approval but is expected to wrap up “some time in 2022.” Salem Medical Center would become the system’s fourth hospital.
Payer
UnitedHealth Group pushed back the deadline for its nearly $8 billion acquisition of Change Healthcare. Per a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, the payer bumped the deal’s outside date from late February to April. The companies are still awaiting the completion of a Department of Justice merger investigation over antitrust concerns.
Tech
Oracle announced it will be purchasing electronic medical records firm Cerner in an all-cash deal valued at $28.3 billion. The purchases pegs Cerner at a $95 per-share price tag and will give Oracle’s cloud business an immediate boost. Oracle also said it plans to expand Cerner’s business into additional international markets following the deal’s close.
Baxter International finalized its proposed acquisition of fellow medtech manufacturer Hillrom. The former paid out $156 cash for each outstanding share of Hillrom common stock, placing the deal at $12.5 billion after accounting for Hillrom’s outstanding debt obligations. Alongside expanding its scale, Baxter said that it plans to grow Hillrom’s legacy products into new international markets.
Pear Therapeutics, a prescription digital therapeutics maker, wrapped up its merger with Thimble Point Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company, and began public trading on Nasdaq. The transaction brought roughly $175 million to Pear, which said it would use the proceeds to further capitalize its prescription software business.
Quartet Health has acquired fellow mental health company InnovaTel Telepsychiatry for an undisclosed sum. The purchase, which immediately follows a $60 million funding round, will allow Quartet to scale to more than 30 states by the end of 2022.
Qualtrics, a multi-industry experience management data platform, announced it acquired healthcare experience and analytics firm SurveyVitals for an undisclosed sum. Along with bringing over 350 additional healthcare organization clients to Qualtrics’ current total of more than 600 hospitals and health systems, the purchase will expand Qualtrics’ healthcare offerings to include omnichannel listening and 11 Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Provider and Systems certifications.
Phreesia, a healthcare scheduling software provider, acquired patient engagement technology company Insignia Health. The deal gives Phreesia the exclusive worldwide license for a proprietary model with which to measure and promote patient engagement. The companies did not disclose the terms of the deal.