Merger and acquisition activity has record-breaking first quarter in 2018
So far this year, roughly $156 billion in deals are already done thanks to pharma giants like Sanofi, GlaxoSmithKline and Celgene.
It's no secret that merger and acquisition activity in the healthcare industry has been steadily climbing for the last few years, but according to data compiled and reported by Bloomberg, 2018 has started off with the biggest bang in a decade.
So far in 2018, roughly $156 billion in deals are already done thanks to pharma giants like Sanofi, GlaxoSmithKline and Celgene, and a pending deal with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company's acquisition of Shire that is valued at $45 billion would propel 2018's year-to-date over $200 billion, making for a record breaking first quarter the likes of which hasn't been seen in at least 12 years, Bloomberg reported.
[Also: Healthcare mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures in 2018: Running list]
Glaxo recently jumped on a deal to buy Novartis AG's stake in a consumer health joint venture, a deal valued at $13 billion. January saw a historic deal for Celgene with a $9 billion acquisition of Juno Therapeutics and a $1.1 billion deal that secured them Impact Biomedicines. Sanofi has scored $15 billion in various deals this year, the report said.
Things have been increasingly busy at the hospital health system level as well. Philadelphia healthcare giant Jefferson Health just inked a non-binding letter of agreement to merge with Einstein Health, and Dignity Health and Catholic Health Initiatives are also moving towards a merger that would form the second largest nonprofit health system in the country.
In New England, the Massachusetts Department of Health has recommended approval of the full-asset mega-merger of the CareGroup System, which includes Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and several affiliates, Lahey Health and a stand alone hospital in Newburyport. Also, Partners Healthcare, which includes the renowned Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital, is finalizing plans to acquire a major Rhode Island system, Care New England.
Also, earlier this month, stockholders for both Aetna and CVS Health voted to approve that proposed merger as well, a deal valued at $69 billion. There are plenty of eyes on the transaction, especially after the failed merger of Aetna and Humana.
