M&A deal value in the medical technology industry in the U.S. 2015-2026

Total value of M&A deals completed in the medical technology industry in the United States from 2015 to Q1 2026

The total value of merger and acquisition deals completed in the medical technology industry in the United States reached about 78 billion dollars in 2025, the highest in years, up from about 39 billion in 2023 and about 66 billion in 2024. Merger and acquisition activity is one of the clearest signals of confidence in the medical technology industry, and the value of deals in the United States, home to most of the world largest device makers, is the single best barometer of that confidence. On the latest figures, US medtech M&A deal value reached about 78 billion dollars in 2025, up from about 39 billion in 2023 and about 66 billion in 2024, while the first quarter of 2026 alone saw about 16 billion in completed deals. Dealmaking is the clearest expression of strategy in the medical technology industry, and the swings in its value from year to year reveal far more about corporate confidence and financial conditions than the steady climb of industry revenue ever could.

Medtech dealmaking rebounded strongly in 2025 after two quieter years, driven by a handful of very large deals. The trend sits within our medical devices and medtech market and medical technology industry coverage.

Volatile and rebounding: US medtech M&A deal value swung from about 24 billion dollars in 2020 to about 78 billion in 2025, while deal counts peaked at 369 in 2021.

The largest deal of the period was the acquisition of Covidien by Medtronic for about 43 billion dollars in 2015, while 2025 brought the 21 billion dollar purchase of Exact Sciences by Abbott, themes our biggest companies by market value and medtech industry data coverage explores.

A note on the data. The figures show the total value of M&A deals completed in the medical technology industry in the United States from 2015 to the first quarter of 2026. Deal values are estimates compiled from industry sources, and the 2026 figure covers the first quarter only. Because deal values are compiled from multiple sources and defined differently across them, and because the timing of when a deal is counted as completed varies, the annual totals are best read as estimates showing the shape of the market rather than precise figures. The medical technology industry here covers medical devices, diagnostics and related health technology companies, and the figures count merger and acquisition deals where the target or acquirer is based in the United States and the deal has been completed.

US Medtech M&A Deal Value and Volume

The table shows the total value of medtech M&A deals in the United States by year, alongside the number of deals. It shows deal value swinging sharply from year to year, from a low of about 24 billion dollars in 2020 to about 78 billion in 2025. Reading across the table shows how weakly deal value and deal count move together, with 2021 the busiest year by count at about 369 deals yet far from the highest by value, and 2023 quiet by count but high in average deal size. Because the figures blend disclosed deal values with estimates for undisclosed transactions, the totals are best read as a consistent series showing the scale and direction of dealmaking rather than as precise absolute values for any single year. The most instructive way to read the table is to follow deal value and deal count together and watch how often they diverge, a divergence that reveals whether each year was shaped by many small deals or a few enormous ones.

How Much Are Medtech M&A Deals Worth?

The total value of medtech M&A deals in the United States is highly volatile, swinging with the presence or absence of a few very large deals. Value ranged from about 24 billion dollars in 2020 to about 78 billion in 2025, with no clear trend in between. The value of medtech dealmaking is far more volatile than the underlying industry it reshapes, because a market that grows steadily at about six percent a year can see its deal value double or halve from one year to the next on the strength of a single transaction. Deal value ranged from a low of about 24 billion dollars in 2020, when the pandemic froze dealmaking, to about 78 billion in 2025, with intermediate peaks around 62 billion in 2021 and 66 billion in 2024. The lumpiness of medtech deal value is not a flaw in the data but the essential nature of the market, since large acquisitions are rare, discrete events that cluster when conditions align and vanish when they do not.

The volatility reflects the lumpy nature of large acquisitions, where a single 20 billion dollar deal can double the annual total, a pattern that reflects the lumpy, deal-driven nature of the market rather than any steady underlying trend.

Swinging sharply: deal value ranged from a low of about 24 billion dollars in 2020 to about 78 billion in 2025, with no clear trend in between.

The strong rebound in 2024 and 2025 was driven by renewed strategic confidence and softer valuations, which made targets cheaper and encouraged the largest companies to pursue big, capability-building acquisitions. The pattern of the series, with quiet years punctuated by sudden surges, is characteristic of an industry that consolidates in waves rather than continuously, as strategic and financial conditions align to unlock large transactions.

How Many Deals Happen Each Year?

The number of medtech M&A deals in the United States peaked in 2021, with about 369 deals, far above any other year. Deal counts fell sharply in 2023 to around 115 before recovering toward 245 in 2025. The number of deals tells a different and steadier story than their value, tracking the general appetite for dealmaking rather than the presence of any single mega-deal, and it maps closely onto the cost of money and the mood of the market. The number of deals rose from about 210 in 2015 to a peak of about 369 in 2021, then fell to around 115 in 2023 before recovering to about 245 in 2025, with about 60 completed in the first quarter of 2026. The number of deals is the truer measure of underlying dealmaking appetite, since it is far less distorted by the occasional mega-deal and tracks the general willingness of companies to buy and sell across the whole size range.

The 2021 surge reflected cheap money and pandemic-era optimism, while the slump of 2022 and 2023 followed rising interest rates, a cycle our Nasdaq stock market coverage frames.

Peaked in 2021: the number of US medtech M&A deals reached about 369 in 2021, then fell to around 115 in 2023 before recovering toward 245 in 2025.

The divergence between deal value and deal count is striking, with 2023 seeing few deals but at high average value, while 2021 saw many deals at lower average value, reflecting very different market conditions. The gap between a busy year for deal count and a valuable year for deal value is one of the most useful distinctions in reading the market, since the two measures can move in opposite directions depending on the mix of large and small deals. Looking across the whole series, the number of deals has proved more sensitive to financial conditions than to the health of the industry, rising when money is cheap and falling sharply when interest rates climb. The sensitivity of deal count to the cost of money makes it a useful leading indicator, often turning down before the wider industry feels any strain and turning up again as soon as financial conditions ease.

What Are the Biggest Medtech Deals?

The largest medtech M&A deal of the period was the acquisition of Covidien by Medtronic for about 43 billion dollars in 2015. It is followed by the purchases of St. Jude Medical and Bard by Abbott and Becton Dickinson, each around 24 to 25 billion dollars. The largest medtech deals are transformational events that reshape the competitive landscape, and a handful of them dominate the entire decade of dealmaking, each one large enough to move the annual total on its own. Medtronic and Covidien about 43 billion dollars in 2015 leads the list, ahead of Abbott and St. Jude Medical about 25 billion, Becton Dickinson and Bard about 24 billion, and Abbott and Exact Sciences about 21 billion in 2025. The roster of the largest deals reads like a history of the industry itself, each transaction marking a moment when one of the giants decided to reshape itself through acquisition rather than through years of internal development.

The dominance of a few mega-deals shapes the whole series, since these transactions alone account for a large share of total deal value, a concentration our global stock markets by country coverage frames.

Medtronic leads: the acquisition of Covidien by Medtronic for about 43 billion dollars in 2015 remains the largest US medtech deal of the period.

More recent landmark deals include the 21 billion dollar acquisition of Exact Sciences by Abbott and the 18.3 billion dollar take-private of Hologic in 2025, along with the 14.5 billion dollar purchase of Penumbra by Boston Scientific in early 2026. The steady flow of billion-dollar deals into 2025 and 2026 marks a clear return to large-scale dealmaking after the caution of the immediate post-pandemic years, and several more large transactions are reportedly in the pipeline. The pipeline of announced but not yet completed deals entering 2026 suggests the recent surge in large transactions has further to run, with several multi-billion-dollar acquisitions still working their way toward completion.

Who Are the Most Active Buyers?

The most acquisitive companies in United States medtech are the largest device makers. Medtronic and Abbott lead by cumulative deal value, thanks to their transformational acquisitions, followed by Boston Scientific, Becton Dickinson and Johnson & Johnson MedTech. The identity of the buyers reveals the strategic logic of medtech dealmaking, which is overwhelmingly about the largest companies buying growth and innovation that would be slower and riskier to build in-house. Medtronic about 48 billion dollars and Abbott about 46 billion lead the most acquisitive medtech companies by cumulative disclosed deal value, ahead of Boston Scientific, Becton Dickinson, Johnson & Johnson MedTech and Stryker. The concentration of dealmaking among a handful of acquirers is one of the defining features of medtech, and it means the pace of consolidation depends heavily on the strategic mood of perhaps a dozen very large companies.

The concentration of dealmaking among the largest companies reflects their need to keep growing in a maturing market, where buying innovation is often faster than building it, a strategy our big tech revenue coverage frames.

The giants dominate: Medtronic and Abbott lead the most acquisitive medtech companies by cumulative deal value, each above 45 billion dollars.

Boston Scientific and Stryker have been the most active serial acquirers in recent years, making many smaller, capability-building deals rather than a few large ones, a strategy analysts increasingly favour over headline mega-deals. The contrast between the transformational buyers, which make occasional huge acquisitions, and the serial acquirers, which make many smaller ones, reflects two distinct and equally valid strategies for growing a medtech company through dealmaking. Beyond the largest acquirers, a long tail of mid-sized medtech companies and private equity firms accounts for a substantial share of deal count, buying the smaller, specialised businesses that the giants later acquire in turn. The rise of the serial acquirer, patiently assembling capability through many small deals, represents a quieter but arguably more durable strategy than the occasional transformational mega-deal that dominates the headlines.

Strategic Buyers and Private Equity

Most medtech M&A value in the United States comes from strategic buyers, other medtech companies acquiring to expand, rather than financial buyers. Strategic deals account for roughly 70 percent of value, with private equity and financial buyers making up the rest. The split between strategic and financial buyers is one of the most closely watched features of medtech dealmaking, because the rising presence of private equity signals both the maturity of the industry and the vast pools of capital seeking healthcare returns. The balance between strategic and financial buyers is one of the most telling indicators in medtech dealmaking, since a rising share of private equity signals both abundant capital and a belief that these businesses can be run more efficiently.

The rising share of private equity reflects the vast pools of capital now seeking healthcare assets, with financial buyers taking companies such as Hologic and ModMed private, a shift our hedge fund assets coverage frames.

Strategic buyers lead: strategic acquirers account for about 70 percent of US medtech M&A value, with private equity and financial buyers making up the rest.

Spinoffs and divestitures have also become a central feature of medtech dealmaking, accounting for about a third of strategic deal value in 2025 as large companies reshaped their portfolios by selling off non-core units. The growing role of divestitures, where large companies sell off non-core units to sharpen their focus, has become one of the defining features of the current wave of medtech dealmaking, creating targets for both strategic and financial buyers.

The Average Deal Size

The average size of a medtech M&A deal in the United States varies widely, from about 100 million dollars in years dominated by small deals to over 300 million in years with several mega-deals. The average was highest in 2023 and 2024. The average deal size is a revealing measure because it distinguishes between years of many small, capability-building deals and years dominated by a few transformational mega-deals, two very different kinds of dealmaking market. The average medtech deal size ranged from about 96 million dollars in 2020 to about 339 million in 2023, with the average generally rising in recent years as the largest companies pursued fewer but bigger deals. The average deal size cuts through the noise of individual transactions to reveal the character of each year of dealmaking, distinguishing the busy years of many small deals from the quiet years dominated by a few giants.

The rising average deal size in recent years reflects a shift toward fewer but larger transactions, as the largest companies pursue transformational acquisitions, a trend our US GDP coverage frames through the wider economy.

Fewer, bigger deals: the average US medtech deal size ranged from about 96 million dollars in 2020 to about 339 million in 2023.

The high average of 2023, despite few deals, shows how a quiet year by deal count can still see large individual transactions, while busy years like 2021 were dominated by many smaller deals. The volatility of the average deal size, swinging between roughly 100 and 340 million dollars, is a direct consequence of the lumpy nature of large acquisitions and the way a single mega-deal can lift the average for a whole year. The swings in average deal size, from barely a hundred million dollars to well over three hundred, capture in a single measure the shift between the two very different kinds of dealmaking year the industry alternates between.

Which Segment Sees the Most Deals?

Medical devices account for most medtech M&A value in the United States, reflecting their dominance of the industry. Diagnostics and digital health make up the rest, with digital health deals growing quickly from a small base. Which parts of the industry attract the most dealmaking says a great deal about where the largest companies see future growth, and the balance between devices, diagnostics and digital health has shifted markedly over the decade. The tilt of dealmaking toward one segment or another is a leading signal of where the industry believes its future growth lies, and the recent balance points firmly toward devices, with diagnostics and digital health competing for the remainder.

The concentration of deal value in devices mirrors the structure of the industry itself, where devices make up about 86 percent of revenue, a split our medtech market by segment coverage frames.

Devices lead: medical devices account for most US medtech M&A value, reflecting their dominance of the industry, ahead of diagnostics and digital health.

Diagnostics dealmaking surged with the 21 billion dollar acquisition of Exact Sciences by Abbott in 2025, while digital health M&A has cooled from its pandemic peak as the sector consolidates. The shifting balance of dealmaking between devices, diagnostics and digital health tracks the changing priorities of the largest companies, which increasingly seek to add software, data and artificial-intelligence capability to their hardware portfolios.

The 2025 Rebound

The rebound in medtech M&A has been sharp. Total deal value rose from about 39 billion dollars in 2023 to about 66 billion in 2024 and about 78 billion in 2025, roughly doubling in two years as confidence returned and valuations softened. The rebound in medtech M&A from the lows of 2023 is one of the clearest signs that confidence has returned to the sector, and its strength has surprised many analysts who expected higher interest rates to keep dealmaking subdued. Total deal value rose from about 39 billion dollars in 2023 to about 66 billion in 2024 and about 78 billion in 2025, roughly doubling over two years, with about 50 billion of the 2025 total coming in the second half of the year. The strength of the rebound from the lows of 2023 has caught many observers by surprise, and it suggests that the strategic imperative to consolidate can outweigh even the drag of higher interest rates when valuations soften enough.

The rebound was concentrated in the second half of 2025, when several large deals were announced, a pace our global pharmaceutical industry coverage frames through the parallel wave of pharmaceutical dealmaking.

Value doubled: US medtech M&A deal value rose from about 39 billion dollars in 2023 to about 66 billion in 2024 and about 78 billion in 2025.

A sharp climb: from a base of about 39 billion dollars in 2023, medtech M&A deal value added about 27 billion in 2024 and 12 billion in 2025 to reach about 78 billion.

Analysts expect dealmaking to stay strong through 2026, supported by more than two trillion dollars of dry powder held by private equity and the strategic need for large medtech companies to keep growing. The scale of private equity dry powder now seeking healthcare assets, estimated at more than two trillion dollars globally, is one of the strongest structural supports for continued medtech dealmaking through the rest of the decade.

US Medtech M&A in Numbers

A few numbers capture the market. Medtech M&A deal value in the United States was about 78 billion dollars in 2025, up from 39 billion in 2023, the largest deal was the 43 billion dollar Medtronic purchase of Covidien, and deal counts peaked at 369 in 2021. These figures together map a dealmaking market that is volatile, concentrated and cyclical, driven by the strategic needs of a handful of very large companies and the ebb and flow of financial conditions. Behind the headline totals lies a market that moves in waves, where a single year can bring more deal value than the three before it, and where the identity of a handful of buyers shapes the fortunes of the whole industry.

The figures matter because M&A is how the medtech industry consolidates and reshapes itself, and the pace of dealmaking signals confidence in the sector, a link our AI market size coverage touches through the race to buy artificial-intelligence capability.

Together these figures show a dealmaking market that is highly volatile year to year, dominated by a few mega-deals, concentrated among the largest companies, and rebounding strongly into 2026. For now, medtech M&A in the United States stands as a volatile but rebounding market, a barometer of confidence in an industry that consolidates in waves rather than in a steady stream.

US Medtech M&A: The Big Picture

Taken together, medtech M&A in the United States from 2015 to 2026 maps a volatile but rebounding market, swinging with the largest deals, a story our cloud market and chemical industry coverage sets against other sectors.

Whether the rebound holds will depend on interest rates, valuations and the appetite of the largest companies for transformational deals, but for now medtech dealmaking is running hot, alongside the demographics in our US population and the markets in our crypto market and VR headset market overviews.

Frequently Asked Questions: US Medtech M&A