Merger activity among physician medical groups stays steady in fourth quarter 2016, data shows

Mergers and acquisitions activity among physician medical groups remained steady in the fourth quarter of 2016 after an unusually strong second quarter, capping off an overall strong year, according to new data from HeathCareMandA.com.

The volume of M&A deals decreased by 8 percent to 27 announced transactions in that fourth quarter, after 29 in the third quarter, but those 27 acquisitions also represented a 17 percent increase in transactions from the fourth quarter of 2015, when there were just 23 announced physician medical group acquisitions.

Of those 27 fourth-quarter acquisitions, only a few had a disclosed price, which is typical. But one transaction was for $6.1 billion: the acquisition of TeamHealth Holdings by The Blackstone Group, which was the second-largest PMG acquisition of the year. Before agreeing to be sold, TeamHealth announced a $311.9 million acquisition of Florida Emergency Physicians, which has about 150 physicians and 100 advanced practice clinicians providing care for 600,000 people each year.

[Also: Tracking 2016 mergers and acquisitions]

Other notable buyers in the fourth quarter included Envision Healthcare Holdings, Apollo Medical Holdings, OCH Health and NorthStar Anesthesia, with two deals each.

Hospital companies or health systems announced six PMG acquisitions in the fourth quarter, while private equity firms announced three. Lisa Phillips, editor of HealthCareMandA.com, said in a statement that with the uncertainty surrounding the potential repeal of the Affordable Care Act, PMGs "realized it will be a difficult future for them, especially for those not in a specialty practice. That is one reason why they have partnered with hospitals."

Twitter: @JELagasse