Nearly 500 health care mergers and acquisitions were announced in the recently completed third quarter, nearly the same as the second quarter but 4% less than the third quarter of 2023.

"There's been a noticeable stabilization in health care M&A activity this quarter, despite significant pressures weighing on the sector," said Avery Swett, editorial analyst at Irving Levin Associates, which publishes the data on its LevinPro HC platform.

The value of third-quarter deals totaled about $44 billion. Although this was 8% less than the second-quarter value, it still was 6% greater than during the same period previous year. The largest deal by price was TowerBrook Capital Partners' and Clayton, Dubilier & Rice's $8.9 billion acquisition of R1 RCM, a Chicago-based revenue-cycle management company focused on transforming the patient experience and financial performance of providers.