M&A Activity Tops $1B in 1Q:2018

We looked back at a busy 1Q:2018 to check out the latest trends in M&A. There were 19 transactions during the quarter (up from 15 in 1Q:2017), and the total deal value, based on available financial details, was $1.1 billion (compared to $835 million in 1Q:2017).

When we broke out transactions by segment, orthopedics dominated M&A activity with 8 transactions, followed by dental (3 transactions), cardio (3 transactions) and GI (2 transactions). The vascular, wound healing and urology segments had one transaction each.

  • Worth noting is that half of the orthopedics acquisitions were in spine. Orthofix acquired Spinal Kinetics; Alphatec acquired SafeOp Surgical; Stryker acquired Vexim; and RTI Surgical acquired Zyga. Other orthopedics deals included J&J’s acquisition of Orthotaxy, a French company developing a platform for robotics-assisted surgery.
  • Boston Scientific was the only company to announce more than one transaction during the quarter: the acquisitions of NxThera, which has a technology that treats urological conditions, and EMcision, makers of a device that coagulates tissue in the GI tract to treat pancreaticobiliary cancers.
  • While we don’t have financial details for most transactions, the largest acquisitions of the quarter based on available data were LivaNova’s $250 million purchase of CardiacAssist, which manufactures a temporary ventricular assist/circulatory support device for postcardiotomy cardiac failure, reported to reflect a 11.9x revenue multiple; and the $239 million acquisition of Cogentix Medical by Laborie Medical. Cogentix has a flexible endoscopy technology and a neuromodulation device to treat overactive bladder, among other products, and the deal has been valued at 3.8x revenues.