The healthcare private equity sector experienced an unprecedented surge last year, with deal value reaching an all-time high of $190 billion, as revealed in a comprehensive new report from Bain & Company. This remarkable achievement was primarily fueled by a significant increase in transactions valued at $1 billion or more. The industry also witnessed the second-highest deal volume on record, tallying 445 buyouts, alongside an impressive exit value projected at $156 billion. As portfolios mature and exit pipelines continue to expand, Bain & Company anticipates another highly active year for investment, signaling robust confidence in the global healthcare market.

This sustained investment momentum underscores a strategic pivot within the sector, with private equity firms channeling substantial capital into innovations and infrastructure that could profoundly shape future healthcare destination offerings and the landscape of international patient care.

According to Kara Murphy, partner at Bain & Company and co-leader of its Healthcare Private Equity team, the record-breaking performance was broad-based:

“Healthcare private equity delivered a record performance last year as large deals spiked and deal count rose across all tiers, with the biopharma and provider segments leading the way, driven by healthcare IT activity.”

Global Investment Drivers and Regional Dynamics

The global upswing in healthcare private equity was propelled by consistent investment activities across Europe, complemented by a notable resurgence in North America, particularly following a period of tariff adjustments in the second quarter. North America, in particular, demonstrated a substantial increase in large-scale transactions, recording 26 deals exceeding $1 billion as of November 2025. This figure nearly doubled the total number of large deals observed throughout 2024, indicating a strong appetite for significant investments in the region’s healthcare infrastructure. This regional dynamism could have profound implications for medical tourism hubs, potentially enhancing their capacity and technological capabilities to attract international patients.

In the provider and related services segment, deal value escalated by an impressive 57% between 2024 and 2025, even as deal volume remained relatively stable. This trend emphatically highlights a shift towards higher-value transactions within the sector. Growth in this area was predominantly driven by advancements in provider IT and services, rather than traditional pure provider acquisitions. Investors focused their capital on critical areas aimed at operational enhancement and efficiency:

  • Analytics solutions to glean deeper insights from patient data
  • Workforce optimization tools to address staffing challenges and improve productivity
  • Platform solutions that streamline operations and enhance scalability

This strategic focus on technology and efficiency, with health IT deal value in the provider segment doubling to an estimated $32 billion in 2025, is a clear indicator of efforts to improve the quality of care and operational effectiveness, which are crucial for attracting and serving cross-border healthcare consumers.

Medtech’s Ascendance and Future Outlook for Health IT

The Medtech sector also experienced a significant boost, with deal value almost doubling from 2024 to 2025, reaching $33 billion. Concurrently, deal volume expanded by nearly 20%, encompassing approximately 88 transactions. Medtech is increasingly becoming a favored area for investors, who are attracted to its established playbooks for generating strong returns on investment. These strategies typically involve a combination of revenue growth, margin expansion, and multiple expansion, all while effectively mitigating inherent downside risks. Such investments are vital for the continuous evolution of patient travel and the availability of cutting-edge treatments globally.

The Bain & Company report forecasts that Health IT will be a prime area for substantial returns on investment in 2026. The continued prioritization of IT stems from several critical industry challenges and opportunities:

  • Increased billing complexity: Driving demand for sophisticated revenue cycle management systems.
  • Workflow digitization: Essential for modernizing clinical and administrative processes.
  • Interoperability: Crucial for seamless data exchange across diverse healthcare systems, a key component for effective international patient care coordination.
  • Value-based care models: Requiring robust data analytics and patient engagement platforms.

Firms that proactively develop innovative pricing and packaging strategies or pursue large-scale mergers and acquisitions within the Health IT domain are positioned to achieve superior exit outcomes, according to the report. This emphasis on technological advancement is reshaping what a leading healthcare destination can offer.

Evolving Landscape for Physician Groups

Conversely, physician groups have seen a reduction in their proportion of global provider transactions. This trend largely reflects the ongoing challenges faced post-COVID-19, including persistent labor shortages and mounting reimbursement pressures. Despite these hurdles, U.S. investors maintain a keen interest, albeit with a refined strategy. The report suggests that companies moving beyond traditional