India's Healthcare M&A Surges, But Quality Assets Dwindle

• India's healthcare sector sees sustained M&A activity post-COVID, driven by consumer shifts and investor interest, with annual fund flows of $6-7 billion.
• Kaivaan Movdawalla (EY Parthenon India) notes healthcare's share of total deals rose to 6%, with organized players growing faster and expected to reach 45-50% market share.
• B Abhinay (KIMS Hospitals) confirms M&A pipeline is drying up, with KIMS shifting focus to greenfield hospitals after 10 acquisitions last year.
• Consolidation themes include large mergers, platform creation, and rising private equity interest in single-speciality segments like eye care and IVF.
• Expansion is moving beyond metros to Tier-1/Tier-2 cities, but experts warn of a shortage of large, ready-to-scale acquisition targets.

Why It Matters: India's healthcare M&A thrives, yet quality assets are scarce, pushing strategies towards smaller acquisitions and organic growth.