Evaluations of the latest „Transaction Monitor Healthcare 2020/2021“ by the auditing firm PwC show that a shift from inpatient facilities to outpatient facilities has become visible in the area of transactions due to the Corona pandemic.
Digital offerings and solutions have increased sharply, especially in the outpatient sector, which is very tempting for investors, especially abroad. Digitization is the trigger for mergers and acquisitions, which increased by seven year-on-year to 149 in 2020; the focus last year was on established service providers and laboratories with 39, followed by care properties with 34, hospitals and specialist clinics (32) and 30 care facilities.
However, rehabilitation clinics have become less attractive for investors, while planned hospitals and facilities with care contracts are making financial investors curious, as they focus on the establishment of medical care centers (MVZ). These are usually located in the vicinity of inpatient facilities as outpatient centers and positively impact after merging with the hospital.
Outpatient rehab facilities, as opposed to inpatient ones, on the other hand, are also targets of transactions, which are also more in demand than ever in 2020, with 30 instead of 26 as in the previous year.
Private equity companies such as Athera are leading the way here.
In the care sector, moreover, inpatient facilities are in great demand as investment objects. The analysis by the experts at PwC further revealed as the value of mergers and acquisitions was higher than ever before at 3.4 million euros.
Video consultations and their founding companies are likely to become increasingly popular with investors in the coming years because a comparison shows that in 2020, insured people used doctors and psychotherapists many times over, with 1.4 million switches. In 2019, there were only a full 3,000 and no takeovers, while 2020 already recorded six.
The reason for the (still) strong reluctance of financial investors is the software that statutory health insurers only accept if the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KBV) has certified these programs.
Source: kma-online.de