Healthcare private equity reached a record $190 billion in deal value last year, a new report from Bain & Company finds.
A spike in deals that were worth $1 billion or more helped drive this record. Deal volume was the second-highest on record, at 445 buyouts, as was the exit value at an expected $156 billion. Bain & Company predicts an active year ahead as portfolios mature and exit pipelines build.
“Healthcare private equity delivered a record performance last year as large deals spiked and deal count rose across all tiers, with the biopharma and provider segments leading the way, driven by healthcare IT activity,” Kara Murphy, partner at Bain & Company and co-leader of its Healthcare Private Equity team, said in a press release.
Global growth was driven by sustained activity in Europe and a resurgence in North America after second-quarter tariff pullbacks. North America saw an uptick in large deals, with 26 transactions exceeding $1 billion as of November 2025. That was nearly double the amount of large deals throughout 2024.
Provider and related services deal value jumped 57% from 2024 to 2025, while volume remained flat. This reflects more high-value deals. Provider IT and services drove growth, while pure provider plays didn’t see the same hype. Investors were focused on areas such as analytics, workforce optimization and platform solutions, per the report. Health IT deal value in the provider segment doubled in 2025 to an estimated $32 billion.
Medtech deal value nearly doubled from 2024 to 2025 to $33 billion and volume grew nearly 20% to approximately 88 deals. Medtech is gaining ground as investors look to proven return-on-investment playbooks like revenue growth, margin expansion and multiple expansion while managing downside risk, according to the report.
Health IT is ripe for ROI in 2026, the report predicted. IT remains a key priority because of increased billing complexity, workflow digitization, interoperability and value-based care. Investors focused on developing pricing and packaging strategies or pursuing large-scale M&A in the space will be best-equipped to achieve “superior exit outcomes,” per the report.
Meanwhile, physician groups have declined as a share of all global provider transactions, reflecting post-COVID challenges with labor shortages and reimbursement pressure. Still, interest remains among U.S. investors. Companies that are going beyond the traditional buy-and-build models, instead focusing on integrated or value-based care, “will find attractive opportunities.” Owning or partnering with ancillaries is another strong way to coordinate care and strengthen margins, the report noted. Specialties like gastroenterology and dermatology have benefited from this approach.
“We are optimistic about the outlook for healthcare private equity this year, particularly given investor confidence in market fundamentals remained high in the face of headwinds last spring,” Nirad Jain, partner at Bain & Company and co-leader of its Healthcare Private Equity team, said in the press release. “Continued strength in public-to-private and carve-out transactions, along with the return of sponsor-to-sponsor activity, also point to ongoing robust activity. Looking ahead, investors will need conviction in their value-creation playbooks to deliver outsized returns as competition for assets remains intense.”