Healthcare Private Equity Report 2026 (Bain & Company)

Summary

• Global healthcare private equity set a deal value record in 2025 with disclosed total value exceeding an estimated $191 billion across 445 buyout deals.p.4
• Healthcare private equity exits jumped from $54 billion in 2024 to an expected $156 billion in 2025, propelled by over 40 exit deals exceeding $1 billion.p.5
• European healthcare deal value doubled in 2025 to an estimated $59 billion, driven primarily by top biopharma buyouts.p.7
• Biopharma buyout value increased to an estimated $80 billion from $55 billion in 2024, accounting for about 30% of global healthcare deal volume.p.8
• Healthcare IT deal value in the provider segment doubled in 2025 to an estimated $32 billion.p.9
• Medtech deal value almost doubled to an estimated $33 billion in 2025 across 88 deals, highlighted by the $18.3 billion take-private acquisition of Hologic.p.10
• Sponsor-to-sponsor healthcare buyouts hit record levels, with over 150 expected transactions worth more than $110 billion in total estimated value.p.10

Key insights

1. European healthcare private equity momentum remained resilient through second-quarter global market friction due to lower exposure to policy and trade shocks.p.5
2. An increase in mega-deals exceeding $1 billion was the primary catalyst driving total healthcare PE buyout values to record highs.p.4
3. Healthcare IT businesses are moving beyond the traditional Rule of 40 performance standard, with top-performing companies reaching Rule of 60 outcomes.p.16
4. Pharma distributors are increasingly active acquirers of physician groups to build strategic scale platforms.p.22
5. Pharma services overall deal volume dropped at an 11% compound annual rate from its 2023 peak, even as deal value reached a record high in 2025.p.25
6. Pharma services investors are shifting focus toward assets with exposure to large pharma sponsors rather than early-stage biotech targets.p.28