Gary W. Herschman, Member of the Firm in the Health Care and Life Sciences practice, in the firm’s Newark office, was quoted in the Bloomberg BNA Health Law Reporter, in “Health-Care Deal Growth Spurs Optimism for 2018,” by Mary Anne Pazanowski. Kevin Ryan, Member of the Firm, was acknowledged for guidance on the article.
Following is an excerpt (see below to download the full version in PDF format):
Health-care transactions in 2018 so far are on track to exceed the prior year, a sign of continued growth and confidence in an industry that generates more than $3 trillion in spending per year.
The number of deals announced and closed in February 2018 increased substantially over the same month a year ago — 80, compared with about 60 deals the previous year — according to a curated list prepared for Bloomberg Law. The growth suggests dealmakers have recovered from whatever jitters the Trump administration takeover caused in early 2017. …
The dozen hospital and health system deals on the February list demonstrate that “many of the large system mergers this year, and in the future, likely will involve systems in disparate geographic regions,” Gary W. Herschman, a transactions attorney with Epstein Becker & Green in Newark, N.J., told Bloomberg Law.
The reason? Avoiding antitrust scrutiny. “As reflected in recent Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission actions, systems with substantial overlapping markets seeking to merge may encounter challenges at the federal level — and maybe at the state level as well,” Herschman said. …
Physician practice and services deals “remain robust,” Herschman said. Deals involving dermatology, eye care, radiology, orthopedics, gastroenterology, and multispecialty practices especially “will continue to trend upward for the remainder of 2018 and into 2019,” he predicted. …
A continued uptick in deals involving companies in the behavioral health and health-care information technology sectors also was seen in February, Herschman said.
