The landscape of global healthcare finance witnessed an extraordinary surge in 2025, with private equity (PE) investments reaching unprecedented levels. Disclosed deal value for the year surpassed an estimated $191 billion, establishing a new benchmark and exceeding the prior record set in 2021. This robust financial activity was mirrored in the volume of transactions, with investors announcing approximately 445 buyouts, marking the second-highest annual total ever recorded, just behind 2021. This surge underscores the enduring appeal of the healthcare sector for sophisticated financial players.

Further reinforcing the sector’s vitality, exit values experienced a significant resurgence. The total value from exits achieved its second-highest year on record, while the volume of these divestments ranked third overall. A dramatic increase in large-scale transactions propelled this leap in exit value, which soared from $54 billion in 2024 to an anticipated $156 billion in 2025. Notably, over 40 deals in 2025 exceeded $1 billion in disclosed value, a stark contrast to only 16 such exits in the preceding year. This intense activity reflects a confluence of two strategic drivers within the private equity sphere: the substantial reserves of undeployed capital, often referred to as ‘dry powder,’ and a growing portfolio of sponsor-owned assets reaching the culmination of their fund life cycles. These prevailing trends collectively suggest sustained positive momentum for the industry, laying a robust foundation for an equally active 2026, and signaling continued investor confidence in the long-term growth trajectory of global healthcare.

Global Healthcare Investment: Overcoming Mid-Year Turbulence

The impressive performance across the global healthcare private equity market in 2025 successfully navigated a temporary slowdown experienced during the second quarter. Europe’s consistent activity, coupled with a significant recovery in North America and Asia-Pacific post-Q2, were pivotal in driving this worldwide growth. The year commenced with considerable vigor, as first-quarter deal volume demonstrated an approximately 21% increase relative to the corresponding period in 2024.

However, the momentum in North America and Asia-Pacific waned in the second quarter, largely attributed to evolving policy frameworks, escalating trade tensions, and uncertainties surrounding tariffs. In contrast, Europe maintained strong activity throughout this period, benefiting from its comparatively limited exposure to these disruptive shocks. Despite this mid-year volatility, the market demonstrated remarkable resilience, regaining its footing in the latter half of the year. Deal activity rebounded sharply, with volume increasing by 39% between the second and third quarters. The second half ultimately concluded with an estimated 7% higher activity than the first half, as Europe’s momentum persisted, and deal activity in both North America and Asia-Pacific saw a robust revival. This resilience is a critical indicator for the stability of healthcare destinations and the infrastructure supporting international patient care, suggesting that underlying demand for quality of care remains strong despite geopolitical headwinds.

Europe’s Investment Surge: Biopharma and Provider Dominance

European dealmaking witnessed a dramatic uplift in 2025, with deal value doubling to an estimated $59 billion. The biopharmaceutical sector continued its leadership in buyout activity, with the top five deals alone constituting an impressive 65% of Europe’s total deal value. The reemergence of large-cap transactions was particularly notable, with approximately 15 deals exceeding $1 billion in 2025, a significant increase from just three in 2023 and four in 2024. Deal count also expanded, surpassing 2024’s high point and extending an upward trend initiated in 2022. Exit activity similarly experienced substantial growth, reaching an estimated $53 billion after a sharp decline in 2024. This was primarily driven by major sponsor-to-sponsor transactions, exemplified by the announced sale of a majority stake in STADA Arzneimittel AG, a Germany-based global pharmaceutical company, by Bain Capital and Cinven to a consortium led by CapVest Partners. This strategic focus on biopharma not only fuels innovation but also strengthens Europe’s position as a hub for advanced medical treatments, potentially enhancing its appeal for medical tourism and cross-border healthcare.

North America’s Resilient Performance Driven by Large Transactions

North America experienced a significant pullback in the second quarter, primarily due to prevailing macroeconomic uncertainties and policy shifts, resulting in a 19% decrease in deal count and a 37% decline in value compared to the first quarter. Yet, despite this temporary retreat, the region concluded 2025 with a healthy performance, bolstered by an increase in deals exceeding $1 billion. By November 2025, 26 transactions had surpassed this threshold, a marked improvement from 14 in the entirety of 2024. Over 70% of these substantial deals were sponsor-to-sponsor sales, indicating a mature and active secondary market for healthcare assets. While total North American deal volumes showed a slight increase over 2024, they remained below the peak achieved in 2021. Exit activity in 2025 significantly rose to an expected $90 billion, a substantial increase from $35 billion in 2024. This robust activity in North America continues to shape the global healthcare landscape, influencing patient travel patterns and the development of specialized healthcare destinations.

Asia-Pacific’s Broad-Based Growth in Healthcare Investment

In Asia-Pacific, deal value reached an unprecedented high for the year, exceeding the 2021 record by more than 30%, despite a moderate slowdown in the second quarter. Investment activity demonstrated remarkable breadth and depth across various countries and sectors. While biopharma and provider services continued to anchor the majority of the healthcare PE market, significant growth was also observed in medtech and healthcare IT. Provider and hospital deals remained a consistent theme, with deal value projected to double from $5 billion in 2024 to over $10 billion for the full year 2025. The region’s exit value also increased by more than 20%, accompanied by an approximate 6% rise in volume.

Countries such as Japan, India, and Australia and New Zealand experienced notable growth since 2024. Activity in Greater China more than doubled its 2024 performance in terms of both volume and value. China’s resurgence was primarily fueled by investments in biopharma and medtech, although overall activity in the country still remains below its recent historical highs. The diversification and growth across Asia-Pacific solidify its position as a crucial player in global healthcare, enhancing its appeal as a healthcare destination for international patients seeking quality of care.

Sectoral Insights: Biopharma, Providers, and Medtech Driving Growth

The year 2025 unequivocally highlighted both the resilience and evolution within healthcare private equity, with biopharma and provider services serving as foundational anchors for activity, while medtech gained significant traction as a new engine of growth. These sector-specific trends are crucial for understanding the future of cross-border healthcare and the types of services available to international patients.

Biopharma: Sustained Investor Focus

Biopharma deal value ascended to an estimated $80 billion from $55 billion in 2024, with volume projected to increase by nearly 20% to over 130 deals. This sector maintained its prominence for investors, consistently accounting for approximately 30% of overall deal volume and at least 22% of deal value annually since 2020. Europe significantly contributed to this momentum, witnessing a nearly 40% increase in deal volume and a 70% rise in deal value since 2024. Exit activity was equally robust, particularly within pharma IT. A notable corporate exit involved Nordic Capital and Astorg’s sale of Clario, a tech-driven contract research organization (CRO), to Thermo Fisher Scientific for nearly $9 billion. Another significant transaction was Insight Partners’ divestiture of Dotmatics, a provider of cloud software for pharmaceutical R&D, to Siemens for more than $5 billion.

In North America, biopharma growth presented a more mixed picture in 2025, with value up 20% but volume remaining flat relative to 2024. Globally, investors in biopharma continue to pursue established themes such as contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs), while also scaling earlier-stage opportunities like site management organizations (SMOs). There’s growing activity, particularly in Europe, within segments less susceptible to payer pressures and policy uncertainty, including generics, consumer health, and animal health. This strategic diversification ensures a broader base for global healthcare innovation.

Provider Deals: Technology and Services at the Forefront

Provider and related services deal value surged by 57% over the previous year, reaching an estimated $62 billion in 2025. While volume remained consistent with the prior year, this reflects a clear shift towards higher-value transactions. Provider IT and services were the primary drivers of growth in 2025, with pure provider investment not experiencing the same acceleration. In 2025, investors sharpened their focus on technology-enabled assets, encompassing analytics, workforce optimization, and comprehensive platform solutions. Healthcare IT deal value within the provider segment doubled in 2025, reaching an estimated $32 billion. A key transaction in this space was Warburg Pincus’s sale of its majority interest in ModMod, a provider IT company, to Clearlake Capital, valuing the asset at over $5 billion. Broader provider dealmaking trends included the ongoing migration of care to alternative sites, M&A in retail healthcare (such as dental and veterinary services), the expansion of lab and diagnostic platforms, and innovations in workforce and staffing solutions. These investments are critical for enhancing the quality of care and streamlining patient travel for both domestic and international patients.

Medtech: A Post-COVID Growth Engine

Medtech is rapidly gaining momentum, as investors identify compelling opportunities to deploy proven value-creation strategies. These strategies typically involve a focus on revenue growth, margin expansion, and multiple expansion, all while diligently managing downside risk. This approach is particularly effective for large-scale assets originating from public markets, whether through take-privates or carve-outs. A notable illustration is the Carlyle Group’s acquisition of Vantive, a global renal care business spun out from Baxter, which finalized in early 2025. Medtech deal value nearly doubled over the prior year, reaching an estimated $33 billion, and transaction volume increased by almost 20% to an estimated 88 deals. The acquisition of Hologic, a women’s health medtech company, by Blackstone and TPG in an $18.3 billion take-private deal, accounted for more than half of the projected medtech buyout activity for the year. Furthermore, at the time of writing, Medline had just successfully raised over $6 billion in an IPO, achieving a valuation exceeding $50 billion. This transaction, however, is not included in the exit statistics due to its timing. Medline was previously acquired in 2021 for approximately $34 billion by a consortium comprising Blackstone, the Carlyle Group, and Hellman & Friedman. The advancements in medtech are vital for modern healthcare destinations, offering cutting-edge solutions that attract international patients seeking specialized cross-border healthcare and improving overall patient outcomes.

Shifting Dynamics: Sponsor-to-Sponsor Deals and Public Market Opportunities

After a period of reduced activity in 2023 and 2024, sponsor-to-sponsor transactions have experienced a significant resurgence as a prominent buyout deal type. Both the volume and value of these deals reached record highs in 2025, with expectations of over 150 sponsor-to-sponsor deals and an estimated value exceeding $120 billion. This substantial uptick in sponsor-to-sponsor activity serves as a strong indicator of the underlying strength and maturity of the healthcare private equity market. We also observed a notable increase in average deal value, with more than 30 sponsor-to-sponsor deals surpassing $1 billion in 2025, a sharp rise from just eight such deals in 2024. Furthermore, public-to-private transactions and carve-outs continue to present alternative and increasingly attractive pathways for investors, with both growing in absolute terms since 2023. These sophisticated deal structures reflect a dynamic market where capital deployment seeks optimal returns, ultimately shaping the infrastructure and capabilities of global healthcare providers.

High-Value Deals Drive Average Size Growth

Deal value experienced a significant boost compared to volume, largely propelled by the increasing number of transactions exceeding $1 billion. This growth in large-cap activity underscores a strong investor interest in high-value segments such as medtech and healthcare IT, which are critical for advancing quality of care and supporting international patient care. For deals valued at less than $1 billion, volume rose by 56% for the year, although it still remained below the previous high-water mark recorded in 2021. In October, the largest deal within healthcare private equity was announced: Blackstone and TPG’s acquisition of all outstanding shares of Hologic, a women’s health medtech company. Valued at approximately $18 billion, this single transaction represented about 9% of the total healthcare PE deal value in 2025. It is worth noting that Sycamore Partners’ take-private acquisition of Walgreens Boots Alliance, valued at around $24 billion, is primarily categorized as a retail deal and is therefore excluded from these healthcare-specific totals.

The past year brought forth several significant trends that are reshaping the investment landscape for global healthcare:

  • Healthcare IT as a Catalyst for Value Creation: This segment is increasingly recognized as fertile ground for opportunistic value creation. Buyout deal volume and value within healthcare IT have consistently trended upwards since 2023, signaling sustained investor appetite. Investors who strategically concentrate on targeted value-creation levers—such as developing comprehensive pricing and packaging strategies or pursuing large-scale M&A to construct synergistic platforms—are best positioned to differentiate their bids and ultimately achieve superior exit outcomes amidst persistently high valuations and competitive deal dynamics. This focus directly impacts the efficiency and reach of international patient care.
  • Reshaping the Pharma Services Investment Landscape: While pharma services has historically been a substantial and attractive area, recent macroeconomic headwinds have led some investors to exercise caution. However, others have leaned in with a more selective approach, prioritizing premium and high-potential assets that offer room for operational enhancements, along with business models that are insulated from broader market instability. This selective strategy ensures continued innovation crucial for medical tourism.
  • Physician Groups Innovating Beyond Traditional Models: Although activity remains below its peak from a few years ago, investor interest in physician groups persists, particularly among US investors. Leading platforms are distinguishing themselves by moving beyond conventional buy-and-build models towards integrated, clinician-centric approaches that prioritize and elevate care quality. Investments in next-generation models built around attractive themes such as pharma exposure or value-based care are uncovering appealing opportunities, enhancing the appeal of regional healthcare destinations.

Strategic Questions for the Future of Healthcare Investment

Many aspects of the healthcare private equity market point towards a cautiously optimistic outlook for 2026. Despite the second-quarter slowdown, global dealmaking reached record levels in 2025, firmly underscoring investor confidence in the sector’s fundamental strengths. The continued growth in public-to-private and carve-out transactions, alongside the renewed vigor of sponsor-to-sponsor activity, further indicates a robust period ahead. As PE portfolios mature and exit pipelines expand, the stage is set for an active 2026. Investors can strategically position themselves by addressing several critical questions:

  1. Can Europe Maintain Its Momentum? As macroeconomic and political landscapes continue to evolve, will investors persistently identify near-term opportunities in Europe while skillfully navigating the fluctuations and policy changes within the US market? This regional dynamic impacts the distribution of quality of care and patient travel options.
  2. What is the Next Phase for Healthcare IT? Will pharma IT activity accelerate further? Will combinatory M&A remain a viable value-creation strategy as platform assets become scarcer in the healthcare IT market? Will the integration and use of generative AI tools continue to drive efficiency and enhance data-enabled care delivery, thereby transforming international patient care?
  3. Will Biopharma Activity Reinvigorate with Easing Macro Pressures? What broader impact will a potential resurgence in biopharma activity have on the global biopharma ecosystem? Will pharma services experience amplified strategic demand if funding conditions return to previous, more favorable levels, potentially boosting medical tourism offerings?
  4. How Will Investors Refine Their Value-Creation Playbooks? To deliver outsized returns in this next chapter of private equity, how will investors hone their value-creation strategies? Will there be significant shifts in focus areas, moving from specific sectors to innovative business models and emerging asset types?
  5. Will 2026 Mark a Breakthrough Year for Deals and Exits? Given the increasing weighted average age of PE portfolios and investors’ push for distributions, will the dam finally break in 2026 with sustained deal and exit momentum? After two years of strong activity that overcame significant macroeconomic and policy headwinds, will 2026 truly mark a year of consistent performance across all four quarters, solidifying the global healthcare investment landscape?

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