LTE Charts of the Week showcase the power of Mergermarket’s Likely to Exit (LTE) predictive analytics engine. Explore LTE Score algorithms to find potential private equity exits here.

• GSK’s Aiolos acquisition at USD 1.4bn is among largest financial sponsor exits of year so far
• Zentrum Gesundheit, Echosens, EyeCare Partners among top healthcare exit opportunities
• Sector valuation multiples normalising after coronavirus boost with 2023 EV/sales median at 3.9x

GSK [LON:GSK] helped kickstart the year for large-cap financial sponsor exits with a USD 1.4bn deal to acquire Aiolos Bio last month (9 January).

The sale of the clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company is among the largest sponsor exits of the year so far and comes after an already upbeat year for the sector in 2023. Healthcare M&A ticked up 18% in 2023, totaling USD 445bn, according to Mergermarket data.

Nord Holding-backed Zentrum Gesundheit tops the healthcare sponsor exit pipeline with a score of 62 out of 100, according to Mergermarket’s Likely to Exit (LTE) predictive algorithm. The score is driven by Mergermarket intelligence that Nord Holding was in a late-stage sales process to sell the asset in July 2022, as well as subsequent updates.

French liver diagnostic medical equipment maker Echosens, owned by Astorg Partners, could also be slated for sale, with an LTE Score of 59. In the US, Partners Group’s EyeCare Partners also has a score of 57.

Although the amount of healthcare sector dealmaking increased in 2023, valuations have been normalizing since a surge during the coronavirus pandemic. The median EV/sales ratio on transactions in Europe and North America last year was 3.9x compared to a peak of 5.7x during 2021.

LTE Scores are generated using a machine-learning algorithm developed by ION Analytics data scientists, engineers, and journalists leveraging 20+ inputs from more than a decade of proprietary Dealogic deal data and M&A intelligence. Find out more about the score’s predictive capabilities in our Predictive Scoring Whitepaper.

Note: Data correct as of 25 January 2024

Source: Mergermarket.ionanalytics.com