Post-pandemic, several deals have entered the healthcare M&A pipeline. LaingBuisson reports that advisers have appointed to help sell businesses in children’s services (Keys Group, Sandcastle Care and Priory Group), mental health (Huntercombe Group and Priory Group), private hospitals (Aspen Healthcare) and specialist care (Active Care Group). Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) intervention will be a…

Leading up to Christmas 2019, the tension between competition oversight of M&A in children’s services and wider concerns about private providers of children’s services was illustrated once again. In mid-December, the Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) unconditionally cleared National Fostering Agency’s (NFA’s) acquisition of Outcomes First Group (OFG). But, shortly after, the Children’s Commissioner called on the Government to address…

The level of merger control risk in the children’s residential homes market is currently regarded by Aldwych Partners as low to moderate. Pockets of concentration in local markets could mean that mergers between the largest operators require divestments to secure Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) clearance. Transactions involving smaller operators with a regional focus may…

Last year saw the CMA’s first review of a merger in child fostering services. These businesses place children with foster parents when a local authority cannot place a child using its own in-house service. The merger was cleared on the condition that services were divested in three regions. Now, with two fostering services businesses (Core…