The hospital M&A market for the third quarter totaled more than $6.5 billion and included 24 deals. This volume was also higher than activity during the second quarter of 2010 by 26 percent.
Hospital M&A activity accounted for 10 percent of all healthcare activity in the quarter. Biotechnology was the most active in the healthcare sector, with $28.6 billion in activity.
For the entire sector, M&A activity totaled $66.5 billion with 230 deals, while the quarter prior included 233 deals worth $45.1 billion.
The increase in dollar volume over the previous quarter may be attributed in part to a return of confidence to the market and to a release of pent-up investment dollars that had been sitting on the sidelines during the economic downturn of the past two years, according to the report.
For the first three quarters of 2010, there were 682 deals in the healthcare sector with a combined value of $144.5 billion.
Read the Irving Levin Associates release on hospital M&A activity.
Read more coverage on hospital M&A activity.
– Changes in Antitrust Guidelines Open 11 Markets to Mergers and Acquisitions
