Why healthcare M&A slipped into Q4: an expert briefing with Rebecca Springer and Collin Anderson, Bailey & Company
Healthcare M&A deal volume fell about 10% from Q2 to Q3 2026 after two straight quarters of growth, as sponsors and sellers pushed processes into Q4, aiming to close in late 2026 or early 2027. Healthcare’s share of U.S. M&A deal count dropped to 10%, its lowest level in four years, as the broader market picked up. The mix of deals is shifting too. The rolling four-quarter count of PE platform deals fell to 169, nearly 30% below its Q3 2025 peak. Over the same period, add-ons hit their highest level since Q3 2025, and minority deals reached 31.3% of PE healthcare deals, the highest share in five years.
Bailey & Company’s Q3 2026 Healthcare M&A Spotlight looks at what’s behind those numbers. Fewer but larger healthcare funds are raising the money: $16.2 billion across 11 funds so far in 2026, compared with $17.4 billion across 43 funds in 2025. Sponsors are using add-ons to bolt AI onto existing platforms. And the 340B rebate pilot and the proposed Medicare 340B payment cut are both set to start in 2027. The team will walk through the report sector by sector, covering healthcare services, health IT, payer services, pharma services and medtech, followed by Q&A.
Bailey & Company is a Nashville-based investment bank focused on middle-market healthcare companies. Rebecca Springer is Senior Director, Market Development, and Collin Anderson is Associate, Market Development, at Bailey & Company, and they will join HTN Live for an expert briefing with HTN’s Martin Cech.
Live event open to everyone, replay and transcript exclusively available for HTN Pros.