More than half of physician medical group deals involved private equity investors each year from 2017 to 2021, according to VMG Health's Annual Healthcare M&A Report 2022.
Private equity was behind 70 percent of about 461 physician medical group deals in 2021, the report said. The volume of 2021 deals was 145% higher than those in 2020.
In the last five years, private equity involvement peaked in 2019 with the investments driving 80 percent of all deals. In 2021 and 2020, the percentage of deals with private equity plateaued at 70 percent.
Ophthalmology and dental practices saw the most transaction volume in 2021, the report said. Texas and California remain large markets for practice expansion.