INDIA – HealthCare Global Enterprises Limited (HCG), a cancer-focused healthcare services provider, announce that it has acquired a majority stake in Suchirayu Healthcare Solutions, gaining an additional 60.9 percent in private funds.

With the transaction HCG has increased its stake increased HCG’s stake in Suchirayu from 17.7 percent to 78.6 percent, the company said in statement.

Suchirayu owns a multi-specialty hospital in Hubli with 110 beds and the capacity to expand to 250 beds.

HCG has been operating and maintaining the hospital since August 2017 and has the right to increase its stake to up to 80 percent, according to the statement.

HCG also owns and operates a separate cancer center in Hubli, and the acquisition is expected to result in synergies and market leadership in the region. HCG and the current group of promoter doctors decided to bring HCG on board in order to collectively improve the value going forward.

HCG has a successful track record of integrating acquisitions, and this acquisition will be consistent with HCG’s future strategy.

In other new developments, Athenahealth, a cloud computing vendor, has announced that it would be acquired for US$17 billion by affiliates of Bain Capital and Hellman & Friedman.

The investment, which provides electronic health records and physician practice tools, is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2022, according to the company.

Chair and CEO Bob Segert, as well as the current management team, will remain in their positions, according to a press release from athenahealth.

November has seen several big money moves in the health IT space. EverCommerce, a software-as-a-service company, announced its new ownership of EHR vendor DrChrono in November, and the newly launched FemTec Health acquired beauty box company Birchbox and social marketing platform Liquid Grids.

Meanwhile, GE announced that its healthcare division, GE Healthcare, would be spun off in early 2023. Virence Health, which merged with athenahealth, was previously GE Healthcare’s value-based care division.

In late September, GE Healthcare announced an agreement to buy surgical visualization company BK Medical for US$1.45 billion in cash, which GE claimed would help it expand its ultrasound business.

It also announced earlier this year the acquisition of Zionexa, a developer of in-vivo biomarkers to guide cancer treatment. GE Healthcare acquired Swedish medical X-ray imaging startup Prismatic Sensors in late 2020.

Mergers and acquisitions outlook

The rate of healthcare mergers and acquisitions (M&As) is expected to set a new high in 2021, with a total number of deals exceeding 3,000, according to an article by Fiercepharma.

According to a new Bloomberg Law report, healthcare companies signed off on 252 deals in August alone. The data was compiled by auditor KPMG and Chicago-based investment bank FocalPoint Partners, which specializes in mergers and acquisitions.

This year’s monthly average is 243 deals, up from 161 last year. However, given the state of the healthcare sector in the midst of COVID-19 surges, these “headwinds,” according to Bloomberg Law, may not last.

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