Physician Medical Group M&A Q3 2026: 105 Deals, Down From 137, Dental Leads With 51
Levin Associates counted 105 physician medical group transactions in the third quarter of 2026, according to an Oct. 19 news release reported by Becker’s ASC Review. That is a slight drop from 107 in the second quarter and down from 137 in the third quarter of 2025. Through the first three quarters of 2026 there have been 386 deals. Dental accounted for 51 transactions, the most of any specialty. Private equity firms made up more than half of the quarter’s deals, with 53. Nine health systems completed a physician medical group transaction, and dental service organization Imagen Dental Partners was the most active buyer with five.
Deal volume is the clearest read on buyer appetite for practice platforms. A year-over-year drop of about 23% suggests a more selective market, while dental’s lead and private equity’s majority share show where consolidation pressure is still concentrated. Owners and platform operators can use the counts to calibrate how competitive an exit or add-on process may be.
Use it for: benchmarking how crowded the buyer field is before you time a sale, recapitalization or add-on search in physician or dental groups.
Watch out for: these are announced-deal counts from one tracker, and a single-quarter dip can reflect reporting lag or deal timing, not a lasting trend.
Try this: compare 105 against 137 for your own specialty, then review our M&A growth strategy resources to pressure-test your timeline.
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