Healthcare M&A 2026: Fewer Deals, Stronger Conviction. Baker Tilly’s Global Report and a Comparison with the Polish Market

The global healthcare M&A market has returned to growth, but not to its previous condition. Baker Tilly’s latest report, “Global Dealmakers 2026: Mid-Market Healthcare M&A Data Pulse”, prepared in collaboration with Mergermarket, shows that in 2025 the value of global healthcare M&A transactions increased by 38% to USD 546.7 billion. At the same time, deal volume declined. In the mid-market segment — transactions valued between USD 15 million and USD 500 million — deal value rose by 2% to USD 105 billion, while volume fell by 3%. The conclusion is clear: investors are not buying “more” today; they are buying assets they truly believe in. 

For Poland, this trend has very concrete implications. According to Statistics Poland, current healthcare expenditure in Poland amounted to PLN 293.6 billion in 2024, representing 8.1% of GDP and increasing by PLN 47 billion year on year. Demographics are only intensifying this pressure: by 2060, people aged 65 and over are expected to account for around 30% of Poland’s population, with their number increasing by 2.5 million compared with 2022. At the same time, private demand is growing. The Polish Insurance Association reported that in 2025 private health insurance already covered more than 5.8 million people, while gross written premium rose to PLN 2.65 billion. 

This creates a very interesting local picture. Globally, investors are currently looking for resilient, profitable companies with recurring cash flows and the ability to scale. In Poland and CEE, there are more and more such assets, although many remain fragmented: specialist clinics, diagnostics, mental health, outpatient care, and technologies supporting both patients and doctors. In the CEE region, the healthcare & pharma sector recorded 124 transactions in 2025, compared with 85 a year earlier, while their total value increased to EUR 6.05 billion. In Poland, despite a slight decline in the overall M&A market to 330 transactions, the medical and life sciences segment remained one of the most resilient areas, with 49 transactions and a 15% market share. 

“Poland fits very well into the global quality-over-quantity trend. For investors today, revenue growth alone is not enough. What matters is the quality of EBITDA, payer mix, utilisation of medical personnel, CAPEX, lease agreements, patient data, and the resilience of the business model to cost pressure. In healthcare, valuation increasingly begins with the question: can this business be scaled safely?” says Tomasz Manowiec, Associate Partner in the Corporate Finance department at Baker Tilly TPA. 

The public offering of Diagnostyka was also a particularly important signal for the market. The company debuted on the Warsaw Stock Exchange in February 2025, and the value of the offering reached almost PLN 1.7 billion. This is an example showing that Poland can offer not only consolidation transactions, but also attractive exit routes for financial investors. In Baker Tilly’s global report, improved exit opportunities are identified as one of the factors supporting cautious optimism for 2026. 

“Healthcare transactions are no longer simply about buying clinics. Increasingly, investors are buying the quality of reporting, regulatory compliance, the stability of financial data, and an organisation’s readiness for integration. That is why audit, financial due diligence, and reporting preparation now have strategic importance. A well-prepared process can shorten negotiations, reduce price adjustments and increase the competitiveness of an auction,” emphasises Krzysztof Horodko, Managing Partner at Baker Tilly TPA. 

The Baker Tilly report shows that 2026 does not necessarily have to bring a sharp increase in the number of transactions. A selective market is more likely: high-quality assets will continue to attract capital, while weaker business models will be harder to sell. For Polish owners of healthcare companies, this is an important moment. Preparation for a transaction does not begin with an investment teaser, but with well-organised financials, a credible valuation, operational data, compliance and a clear growth story. This is precisely where Baker Tilly TPA’s experience — combining corporate finance, M&A, valuations, audit and business advisory — can translate local potential into real transaction value.