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Laxman Pai, Opalesque Asia:

The number of global healthcare private equity deals rose to a record 380 last year, up 21% from 2019, even as the value of those deals fell 17% in that time, said a study.

According to Bain's tenth annual Global Healthcare Private Equity and M&A Report, a glut of dry powder combined with a strong appetite for exits created by capital markets, created fertile conditions for investment.

Despite Covid-19's damage to patient volumes and provider margins, healthcare provider and biopharma sectors were the most active in 2020, with nearly 150 deals each, said the study. Pressures on healthcare providers and the shift toward alternative sites of care also drove growth and activity in healthcare IT.

2020's uptick in deal volume, however, came with reduced total and average deal values, especially in the absence of blockbuster transactions on the order of the 2019 $10.1 billion Nestlé Skin Health deal. The average size of deals with disclosed values dropped 57% in 2020 while total disclosed deal value declined for the first time since 2015, falling 17% to $66 billion.

The industry's upheaval in 2020 inserted substantial uncertainty for buyers and sellers of assets, reducing deal appetite, especially for the largest deals that have been a hallmark of prior years. For example, between 2015 and 2018 the top 10 healthcare buyouts represented roughly 60% to 75% of disclosed value for all healthcare deals.

In 2020, however, the to......................

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