High levels of life sciences mergers and acquisitions in the tail-end of 2013 may make for a busy start to 2014, according to a report from PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Medtech M&A contracted overall last year, with the 41 reported deals representing a 13% drop since 2012, but the end of the year saw a surge in activity in the overall life sciences sector. Deals announced late last year and those that had not closed as of the end of the 4th quarter could help jump-start 2014 and may signal a healthy turn for the industry.
"Deal activity in the 4th quarter, including both closed and announced transactions, suggests a heightened level of activity in early 2014," according to the PwC report. "Healthy balance sheets, access to financing, and strong equity markets will allow [pharmaceutical/life sciences] participants to continue to seek opportunities to grow through acquisition across industry sectors."
Device makers posted 15 deals worth a collective $4.77 billion during the 4th quarter of 2013, compared with 17 deals worth $11.96 billion in Q4 2012. The PwC report included only mergers and acquisitions in which U.S. companies are acquired or U.S. companies are the buyers.
Late-in-the-year deals included HeartWare International’s (NSDQ:HTWR) $350 million bid for CircuLite and its Synergy heart pump and C.R. Bard’s (NYSE:BCR) $280 million acquisition of Medafor.
