Despite a strong desire for companies to be active in M&A and continued acquisition and divestiture evaluation, many buyers were kept from executing on their inorganic growth agendas due to inflated valuations (related to bid/ask differences), leadership changes (allowing time for new strategy to be actioned), and political and regulatory uncertainty (impacting drug pricing and the broader healthcare landscape). While the total deal value was higher in 2018 (primarily driven by the Takeda/Shire $81.7B megadeal), lower volumes reflect the challenges faced in completing deals.
