ASCs saw continued consolidation of industry participants in the first quarter of 2018, according to Hammond Hanlon Camp's Healthcare M&A Transactions Database.
Here are five notable details from the database, which includes information on activity for hospitals and health systems; healthcare IT; long-term care; home health; behavioral health; and laboratories. It is updated quarterly.
1. The database lists three ASC transactions for the quarter:
- Little Rock, Ark.-based Pain Treatment Centers of America's acquisition of Little Rock-based Arkansas Surgery & Endoscopy Center for $3.4 million.
- Medical Facilities Corp. acquired seven ASCs for $46.5 million through a joint venture with Leawood, Kan.-based NueHealth.
- Oak Brook, Ill.-based Inland Real Estate Acquisitions purchased the Edward-Elmhurst (Ill.) Health Center. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
2. In the first quarter of 2018, there were 149 healthcare transactions, down from 163 transactions in the first quarter of 2017. However, annual transaction volume in 2017 was the highest in recent history.
3. 2018 is positioned to be a "very active year," according to Hammond Hanlon Camp, a healthcare-focused, independent strategic advisory and investment banking firm.
4. Twenty hospital and health system transactions were announced at the beginning of 2018, matching the number announced in the first quarter of 2017.
Important transactions included the merger of Baltimore-based Bon Secours Health System and Cincinnati-based Mercy Health, which created a system with more than $8 billion in annual revenue.
5. In the first quarter, Ascension indicated plans to scale back hospital operations and expand its outpatient footprint.
"We have witnessed large systems divest non-performing assets as well as begin to prioritize ambulatory investments over traditional bricks and mortar," said Victoria Poindexter, a principal at H2C.
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