Medtech M&A 2026: Key Trends Shaping the Next Wave of Medical Device Deals

At LSI USA ’26, the panel “Medtech M&A: An Optimist’s Perspective on the Future of Medtech” brought together leaders from EY-Parthenon, Medtronic, Evercore, Vensana Capital, and Edwards Lifesciences to discuss the state of dealmaking, capital deployment, and strategic growth across the industry. The conversation made one point clear: medtech M&A 2026 is not simply about whether deal activity returns. It is about how capital gets deployed, which assets attract strategic attention, and what companies need to prove before they can become must-have acquisition targets.

Moderated by John Heinbigner, Partner at EY-Parthenon, the panel featured Chris Eso, VP, Global Head of Corporate and Business Development, M&A and Ventures at Medtronic; Bennett Blau, Senior Managing Director at Evercore; Greg Banker, Partner at Vensana Capital; and Chad Rice, Senior Vice President of Corporate Development at Edwards Lifesciences.

A Market Defined by Strong Fundamentals and Selective Capital

The panel opened with a look at a market that appears healthy in some ways and challenged in others. Heinbigner noted that the overall medtech market grew about 6% in 2025. Underlying fundamentals, including utilization volumes and capital spending, remain strong.

But public market sentiment has not fully reflected that strength. Heinbigner pointed to a disconnect between industry fundamentals and equity market performance, noting that medtech has been trading at a discount despite historically trading at a premium.

Blau described the current environment as “a very schizophrenic market environment,” pointing to a broader market where the S&P 500 has held up better than many would have expected given macro and geopolitical turmoil, while medtech has remained challenged.

“If you look at a longer period of time, we live in an environment where over the last three years you have the S&P 500 up roughly 70%,” Blau said. “If you then zero in on healthcare, it’s anywhere between 20 to 25%, and then you zero in on medtech, and it’s down anywhere between 5 to 10%.”

That backdrop has also shaped the IPO environment. Blau described the market as “incredibly selective,” especially for medtech companies looking to access the public markets.

Why Growth Is Driving Medtech M&A 2026

For strategic acquirers, growth remains the central theme. Blau emphasized that the number of scaled, high-growth public medtech assets has narrowed considerably in recent years, creating scarcity for large strategic buyers seeking assets that can move the needle.

“We sit here today where when you look at all of the public assets that exist in medtech out there, they’re not enough really to collectively move the top line profile of some of the acquirers,” Blau said.

That scarcity matters because growth is increasingly tied to valuation. According to Blau, every one percentage point of revenue growth in the pre-COVID period corresponded to roughly one to one and a half turns of EBITDA valuation. Today, he said, that same point of growth may be worth closer to two and a half to three turns of EBITDA.

In that environment, he sees two paths for strategics: acquire growth or divest slower-growth businesses to improve the overall profile of the company.

“I am quite optimistic, actually, that there will be a return to deploying a lot of capital,” Blau said. “I actually think we have seen that already, but I think the ways in which that capital is deployed will be different.”

This blog is originally published here: https://www.lsiusasummit.com/news/medtech-ma-2026-key-trends-shaping-the-next-wave-of-medical-device-deals