Скачать или смотреть Nelson Advisors predicts Distressed M&A's role in European HealthTech and MedTech in 2026

The European healthcare technology (HealthTech) and medical technology (MedTech) landscape enters 2026 at a profound inflection point, characterised by a transition from the speculative fragmentation of the early 2020s to a disciplined era of "industrial maturity."


Following a period of post-pandemic recalibration in 2024 and a tentative recovery in 2025, the market is poised for a robust, albeit structurally transformed, resurgence in mergers and acquisitions (M&A). The defining theme for the 2026 vintage is "Industrialisation."


This concept signifies a departure from the fragmented, venture-subsidised experimentation that characterised the 2019–2022 era, moving instead toward scalable, profit-generating platforms that leverage operational leverage, regulatory fortitude, and vertical integration to dominate their respective sub-sectors.


While headline deal values are projected to rise, the underlying mechanics of the market have shifted fundamentally toward distress-driven consolidation. The convergence of macroeconomic pressure, the maturity of the private equity liquidity cycle, and most critically the "Regulatory Darwinism" imposed by the full implementation of the EU Medical Device Regulation (MDR) and In Vitro Diagnostic Regulation (IVDR) has created a sharp bifurcation in asset quality.


For 2026, the outlook is not a rising tide that lifts all boats. Instead, it is a "clearing event." On one side, high-quality, AI-enabled assets and profitable platforms will command premium multiples (12x–15x EBITDA).On the other, a vast swath of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), particularly in legacy hardware and In Vitro Diagnostics (IVD), face an existential crisis due to compliance costs and capital scarcity, making them prime targets for distressed acquisition, carve-outs, and insolvency-led restructuring.