The 142 physician group mergers and acquisitions in this year's second quarter outpaced those of the first quarter by 5 percent, according to data in the "Healthcare M&A Report" published July 13 by healthcare analyst LevinPro HC.
The most expensive second quarter deal was UnitedHealth Group subsidiary Optum's $300 million acquisition of Healthcare Associates of Texas, a Dallas-based physician practice management company.
The runner-up was publicly traded biomedical company Atrys Health's acquisition of Bienzobas Salud, an oncology group in Spain, for $80.12 million
In the second quarter, dental physician groups saw 42 transactions, a 50 percent increase from the previous quarter’s 28 deals.