86 Acquisition International - August 2017 2017 started well in terms of the aggregate value of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) targeting companies in the healthcare sector, according to Zephyr, the M&A database published by Bureau van Dijk. In all there were 1,041 deals worth a combined $20,221 million targeting companies in the sector announced in the first half of the year. n terms of value, this result represents a decline on the $24,582 million-worth of deal making recorded in the second half of last year, although it is up on the $19,411 million injected in H1 2016. As such, 2017 to date has surpassed the same point in 2016 in terms of value. This will give many hope for a prolific H2 which can beat the $24,582 million recorded in H2 2016. Although the first half of this year has been very promising in terms of the aggregate value of deals recorded, it was still surpassed by a few other H1 periods, namely H1 2007 ($30,244 million), H1 2011 ($23,954 million), H1 2014 ($22,493 million) and H1 2015 ($27,323 million). Nevertheless, the result marked an improvement on H1 2013 ($16,332 million), H1 2012 ($13,034 million) and H1 2010 ($13,362 million), among other six month periods. The results for 2017 to date have been boosted by several sizeable deals as four transactions broke the $ 1,000 million-barrier. The most valuable of all involved a US company as surgical centres operator Surgical Care Affiliates was acquired by UnitedHealth Group for $3,600 million. This was followed by a $2,500 million takeover of air medical transportation company Air Methods by American Securities, via its ASP AMC Intermediate Holdings vehicle. Other deals which were worth more than $1,000 million during 2017 to date include a $1,926 million takeover of French clinical testing laboratories operator Cerba Healthcare and a $1,000 million purchase of US genetic diagnostics software developer Ambry Genetics. These four deals combined account for 40% of the $22,381 million- worth of deal making recorded in 2017 to date at the time of writing. Given the fact that three of the aforementioned deals featured US targets, it is unsurprising to note that North America has attracted the most value of all world regions in 2017 to date. In all the region, has been targeted in deals worth a combined $11,684 million, placing it well ahead of second- placed Western Europe, which attracted deal making of $4,783 million, while the Far East and Central Asia and Oceania came third and fourth with $2,831 million and $2,596 million, respectively. Of the $11,684 million injected into North American companies during 2017 to date, $7,210 million took place in Q1, while $2,963 million followed in Q2 and $1,511 million in Q3. North America’s performance is so impressive that the region has already attracted more value within the healthcare sector in 2017 to date than it did for the whole of 2016 ($11,539 million). In conclusion, 2017 has started well and results are promising, if not record-breaking, for the year to date. The healthcare sector has been targeted via several large deals and continued interest in the segment as we move into the second half of the year should ensure the year performs well as a whole when compared to preceding years. Company: Bureau van Dijk E-Mail:
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