Here’s a detailed summary of the 2025 Healthcare M&A Report from VMG Health, highlighting key insights and specific points of interest related to gastroenterology (GI):
General M&A Trends:
- The overall healthcare merger and acquisition landscape experienced robust activity in 2024, though slightly lower than in 2023, primarily due to economic pressures like high interest rates, rising labor costs, regulatory uncertainty, and potential administrative changes.
- Despite these headwinds, private equity (PE) involvement was significant, with approximately 60% of physician medical group transactions in 2024 linked to PE firms or their portfolio companies.
- Geographically, Florida, Texas, and California led physician group transactions, reflecting population density and growth potential.
Gastroenterology Specific Highlights:
- Gastroenterology emerged as one of the prominent specialties seeing increased merger and acquisition activities between 2022 and 2024. Although exact numbers weren’t highest among specialties, gastroenterology was listed among significant movers alongside plastic surgery, cardiology, ENT, dermatology, podiatry, and OB/GYN.
- GI Alliance (GIA), a leading network of gastroenterology providers, had a major acquisition event. Cardinal Health acquired a majority stake (71% ownership) in GIA for approximately $2.8 billion. GIA is a large physician-led management services organization (MSO) that supports independent gastroenterology practices, comprising over 900 physicians across more than 345 office locations in 20 states.
- Gastroenterology is highlighted among specialties with high opportunity and significant impact in the ambulatory surgery center (ASC) market. The shift toward performing gastroenterology procedures in outpatient ASC settings is accelerating, driven by clinical innovation, payer pressure, physician financial incentives, and private equity investments