Cost-savvy buyers should dominate healthcare M&A in '09

Healthcare mergers and acquisitions should continue throughout 2009, but they're likely to be led by buyers with cost-cutting strategies. That, at least, is the general feeling shared by speakers at a recent healthcare M&A conference staged this week by the International Institute for Business Information and Growth, who discussed opportunities for investor-owned facilities.

Speakers at the conference--Investment and M&A Opportunities in Healthcare--said that investor-owned companies see opportunities despite the gloomy economy climate. For example, Buddy Gumina, who oversees the healthcare sector for private equity advisory firm Apax Partners, said these opportunities include the potential expansion of health coverage through health reform, the lack of capital access for non-profits and the ability to leverage quality investments into higher volume.

That being said, if unemployment continues to rise in the U.S., investor-owned companies may drop whatever M&A plans they have, and these companies won't buy if they have to get high-priced bank financing, speakers said.

To learn more about the healthcare M&A climate:
- read this Modern Healthcare article (reg. req.)

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