Industry Report: Healthcare Q3 2025 [Peakstone]

Key Report Highlights

• M&A Volume Normalizes After Pandemic Surge
  Healthcare M&A remains active but has cooled from pandemic-era highs. Q1 2025 saw 240 strategic and 31 financial transactions, compared to over 1,900 deals in 2020. Buyers continue to focus on specialized services, tech-enabled platforms, and care delivery innovation, with the Southeast and Midwest leading in regional activity.
• Valuations Remain Strong in High-Growth Niches
  Median deal value spiked to $168 million, the highest on record. EV/EBITDA multiples averaged 13.7x, while EV/Revenue reached 2.5x, reflecting premium pricing for autism care, radiopharma, and healthcare IT assets with scalable tech or IP-backed solutions.
• HealthTech and Equipment Outperform Biotech and Providers
  According to page 5’s stock performance data, HealthTech led all tracked segments with a 152% return since 2014 and the highest sector multiple at 21.4x EBITDA. In contrast, life sciences (+25%) and biotech (+84%) lag behind the S&P 500’s 207% return, signaling a shift in investor focus toward platform-enabled care and diagnostic infrastructure.
• Strategic Buyers Target High-Growth and Specialized Assets
  Major transactions in Q1 2025 demonstrate strong appetite for technology-enabled and specialty healthcare platforms. Notable deals include Roper Technologies’ $1.85 billion acquisition of CentralReach (autism and IDD care software), Advanced Instruments’ $2.2 billion purchase of Nova Biomedical (diagnostics), and Novartis’ $3.1 billion acquisition of Anthos Therapeutics (cardiovascular therapies). These high-value deals underscore the growing premium placed on data-rich, IP-protected, and outcomes-driven healthcare assets.
• Middle Market Still Driving Strategic Growth
  Even with megadeals dominating headlines, numerous middle market deals—such as LENSAR ($255M) and bluebird bio ($315M)—demonstrate buyer interest in scalable platforms with defined IP, FDA-cleared products, or commercial-stage pipelines. Private equity and strategics are competing for these high-potential assets to build or expand care delivery portfolios.

Peakstone Group is a Chicago-based, 40+ person investment bank that specializes in mergers and acquisitions advisory and capital raising. An Axial member since 2010, Peakstone works across a variety of industries and has marketed more than 270 deals on the Axial platform at the time of this publication.

Peakstone is a trusted member of the Axial Partnership Program and contributes content and industry insights to Axial’s Middle Market Review. The following report is a Peakstone Group publication, which has been approved for Axial to share with its network.

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