Wall Street analysts tipped 2024 as the year that medtech dealmaking would return after a two-year slowdown when companies were forced to navigate a tough economic environment, complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic still pressuring businesses.
There have been few big-name, billion-dollar deals so far this year, though a steady amount of M&A news has come out of the sector.
In early January, Boston Scientific announced it would buy Axonics for $3.7 billion. The acquisition, which Axonics’ shareholders approved last week, has been the largest announced yet in 2024. Boston Scientific may still have a few hurdles to clear before closing the deal, as some antitrust experts have speculated the Federal Trade Commission could challenge the merger.
There have been several private equity transactions over the past few months. Johnson Matthey agreed to sell its medical device components business to Montagu Private Equity for $700 million, and Agiliti agreed to go private in a $2.5 billion deal with the private equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners.
A handful of smaller transactions also round out the list, including Roche’s plan to buy LumiraDx’s point-of-care technology for $295 million and Haemonetics’ planned $160 million acquisition of Attune Medical.
There may be larger deals for medtech later this year. On Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Johnson & Johnson is in talks to buy Shockwave Medical. Baxter also announced this month that it is exploring options to sell its kidney care business rather than spinning off the unit, forecasting that the separation would be announced in the second half of 2024.
Here’s a collection of MedTech Dive’s coverage of dealmaking so far in 2024: