Global healthcare private equity reached an estimated $191 billion in announced deal value across 445 buyouts in 2025. That was a record for value and the second-highest annual deal count on record.[1] The firms buying healthcare companies now range from global asset managers funding drug development to healthcare specialists assembling physician groups one practice at a time.
That range makes a simple ranking misleading. A firm that can finance a multibillion-dollar pharmaceutical carveout is not automatically the right partner for a five-location medical group. A lower-middle-market specialist may have more relevant operating experience for that business.
This guide identifies 14 of the top healthcare private equity firms active in the United States in 2026. We selected them using four criteria:
Healthcare investing history, including the number and range of medical investments.
Capital scale, based on current assets, committed capital, or disclosed healthcare acquisition activity.
Medical-sector breadth, including care delivery, physician services, healthcare technology, life sciences, medical devices, and pharmacy services.
Relevance to independent practices, especially groups considering a sale, recapitalization, or management-services partnership.
This guide is a market map. It does not rank investment returns because private funds do not publish performance in a consistent form that allows a reliable public league table.
The 14 Firms at a Glance
Firm | Healthcare position | Disclosed scale | Representative medical focus |
|---|---|---|---|
Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe | Healthcare and technology specialist | $33B committed capital | Care delivery, risk-based care, healthcare IT |
GTCR | Multi-sector firm with a long healthcare franchise | $25B+ healthcare purchase price since 2000 | Providers, devices, diagnostics, pharma, healthcare IT |
TPG | Global manager with a dedicated healthcare platform | $21B+ healthcare capital deployed since 2003 | Providers, biopharma, devices, healthcare technology |
Bain Capital | Global, cross-strategy healthcare investor | Global multi-strategy platform | Care delivery, health IT, life sciences, medical products |
New Mountain Capital | Defensive-growth investor with deep healthcare exposure | Approximately $60B AUM | Healthcare IT, services, diagnostics, life sciences |
KKR | Global buyout and healthcare-growth investor | Global multi-strategy platform | Physician services, dental, home care, medical products |
Blackstone | Global manager with private equity and life-sciences strategies | Global multi-strategy platform | Life sciences, health IT, pharma services, advisory services |
Linden Capital Partners | Healthcare-only buyout firm | Approximately $14B regulatory AUM | Pharma services, devices, specialty care, provider services |
Webster Equity Partners | Healthcare-focused middle-market firm | $10.1B AUM | Physician groups, behavioral health, post-acute care |
Shore Capital Partners | Lower-middle-market healthcare specialist | $10.6B AUM on healthcare page | Medical groups, behavioral health, healthcare services |
WindRose Health Investors | Healthcare-only middle-market investor | AUM not stated in accessible page text | Physician enablement, health IT, pharmacy, diagnostics |
Revelstoke Capital Partners | Healthcare-focused buy-and-build investor | $6.8B AUM | Physician groups, urgent care, behavioral health, technology |
Charlesbank Capital Partners with Goldman Sachs Alternatives | Middle-market operator paired with a global capital provider | Charlesbank: $24B total assets | Primary care, rural health, behavioral health, pharmacy |
L Catterton | Consumer-focused private equity with growing health exposure | Global consumer investment platform | Membership medicine, wellness, supplements, consumer health |
The figures above come from the firms' current disclosures and use different definitions. Assets under management, regulatory assets under management, committed capital, and cumulative purchase price are not interchangeable. They show scale, but they should not be used as a performance comparison.
1. Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe
Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe invests in healthcare and technology companies. The firm has focused on those two industries since 1986 and has raised more than $33 billion in committed capital across its history.[4] Its 2024 responsible-investment report lists more than 200 portfolio companies across 45 years, while the firm says it has invested in more than 100 healthcare companies.[4]
The current healthcare portfolio meets the breadth and experience criteria used for this guide. It spans primary care, ambulatory surgery, musculoskeletal medicine, imaging, dental benefits, healthcare software, post-acute services, and life sciences. Current and historical names include CenterWell Senior Primary Care, Constitution Surgery Alliance, Lumexa Imaging, Select Medical, United Musculoskeletal Partners, and naviHealth.[5]
Best fit: Large healthcare platforms, experienced management teams, and businesses that can expand through acquisitions or new care models.
2. GTCR
GTCR buys and builds companies across healthcare services, life sciences, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, and healthcare technology. Its healthcare franchise dates to 1981. Since 2000, the firm reports more than 35 healthcare platform acquisitions, more than 125 add-on acquisitions, and over $25 billion in total purchase price.[6]
GTCR's current medical portfolio includes Aqua Dermatology, Caravel Autism Health, PathGroup, Maravai LifeSciences, Corza Medical, and Experity. That range gives the firm experience with both direct patient care and the products and systems used around it.[6]
Best fit: Established healthcare businesses that need a management team, substantial acquisition capital, or expansion across several medical markets.
3. TPG
TPG invests across providers, payers, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and healthcare technology. The firm's dedicated healthcare site reports more than $21 billion deployed in healthcare since 2003, including co-investments, more than 25 platform investments, and over 100 portfolio-company acquisitions since 2012.[7]
TPG's healthcare businesses collectively recorded more than 11 million annual patient visits and served more than 9 million people annually through services and information technology, based on the firm's disclosed portfolio measures.[7] The strategy ranges from behavioral health and orthopedics to biotechnology and technology-enabled care.
Best fit: Larger companies that sit at the intersection of medical services, products, and technology, including businesses capable of supporting major research or acquisition programs.
4. Bain Capital
Bain Capital invests in healthcare through private equity, life sciences, venture capital, credit, and other strategies. Its current private-equity portfolio includes athenahealth, Aveanna Healthcare, Surgery Partners, and U.S. Renal Care. The healthcare platform also invests in drug development and medical products through separate strategies.[8]
This cross-strategy structure matters. A healthcare software company, a dialysis operator, and a biotechnology company need different forms of capital and different operating support. Bain Capital can invest across those categories without treating all three as the same type of business.
Best fit: Scaled healthcare companies, complex carveouts, health technology, outpatient care, and life-sciences businesses that may need more than a conventional buyout fund.
5. New Mountain Capital
New Mountain Capital invests in defensive-growth industries, including healthcare services, healthcare technology, diagnostics, and life sciences. The firm manages approximately $60 billion across private equity, credit, and net lease strategies.[9]
New Mountain's healthcare history includes businesses that connect care delivery with data and administrative systems. A notable example is Signify Health, which New Mountain formed by combining two in-home healthcare businesses before CVS Health completed its acquisition in 2023. Current healthcare holdings include companies in claims processing, life-sciences services, diagnostics, and provider support.[9]
Best fit: Healthcare companies with recurring demand, measurable operating data, and opportunities to expand through technology or adjacent services.
6. KKR
KKR invests in healthcare through global buyout, middle-market, core private equity, and healthcare-growth strategies. Its healthcare-growth mandate covers biopharmaceuticals, medical devices, healthcare services, life-sciences tools and diagnostics, and healthcare information technology.[10]
Current and historical holdings show substantial care-delivery exposure. KKR's healthcare leadership has held board roles at BrightSpring Health Services, Covenant Physician Partners, Envision Healthcare, Global Medical Response, Heartland Dental, and Therapy Brands.[11] The breadth is meaningful, but it also requires investors and operators to evaluate each KKR strategy separately.
Best fit: Large platforms, physician-services organizations, multi-site care businesses, and growth-stage healthcare companies that can use a global capital and operating network.
7. Blackstone
Blackstone invests in healthcare through private equity, growth, credit, and a dedicated life-sciences business. Blackstone Life Sciences funds and manages late-stage clinical development for pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical-technology companies. It reports that its team members have helped bring more than 200 medicines to market.[12]
Blackstone's broader healthcare investments include HealthEdge, Chartis, DNAnexus, Medable, Cryoport, and Life Science Logistics.[13] That makes it especially relevant in healthcare technology, pharmaceutical infrastructure, clinical development, and services sold to providers and payers.
Best fit: Large-scale health technology and services businesses, pharmaceutical development, medical technology, and companies that need access to several types of institutional capital.
8. Linden Capital Partners
Linden Capital Partners invests only in healthcare. Founded in 2004, the Chicago firm reports approximately $14 billion in regulatory assets under management and more than $5 billion invested in healthcare companies as of December 31, 2025.[14] In April 2025, it closed its sixth buyout fund at $5.4 billion, including commitments from limited partners and the general partner.[15]
Linden's portfolio covers pharmaceutical commercialization and manufacturing, medical devices, clinical research, revenue-cycle management, infusion care, behavioral health, specialty care, and healthcare education.[16] Its healthcare-only structure gives founders a team that spends all of its time in regulated medical markets.
Best fit: Middle-market and larger healthcare businesses that want a sector specialist with experience across products, services, and pharmaceutical markets.
9. Webster Equity Partners
Webster Equity Partners builds healthcare provider and services organizations. Founded in 2003, the firm reports $10.1 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2025 and more than 370 platform and add-on investments over its history.[17]
Its portfolio includes cardiovascular practices, women's health, behavioral health, post-acute physician services, primary care, and organizations serving people with disabilities. Current names include CVAUSA, Medrina, MyTown Health Partners, Nova Women's Health, and Oceans Healthcare.[18]
Best fit: Physician groups and healthcare-services companies pursuing a regional or national buy-and-build strategy.
10. Shore Capital Partners
Shore Capital Partners buys lower-middle-market healthcare companies and helps them complete repeated add-on acquisitions. Its healthcare strategy reports approximately $10.6 billion in assets under management and more than 1,000 microcap partnerships.[19]
Shore invests in provider services, payer services, medical products, and distribution. It has built platforms in behavioral health, dental care, women's health, pediatric care, medical equipment, and physician services. Shore previously backed Specialdocs Consultants, a company that helps physicians convert traditional practices to concierge medicine. The firm's current site lists Specialdocs as a realized investment.[19] That history gives Shore direct experience in the market covered in our guide to private equity in concierge medicine.
Best fit: Founder-owned healthcare companies that are smaller than the typical target for a global buyout fund and have a clear path to add locations or services.
11. WindRose Health Investors
WindRose Health Investors invests only in healthcare businesses that aim to improve quality or operating efficiency. Its portfolio spans revenue-cycle management, radiology software, specialty pharmacy, diagnostics, home medical equipment, physician enablement, and care delivery.[20]
Current and historical investments include CardioOne, AGS Health, CIVIE, Curation Health, Altruix, BlueSprig, and Alliance Healthcare Services.[20] CardioOne is particularly relevant to independent specialists because it provides management and operating support to cardiology practices.
Best fit: Middle-market healthcare services and technology businesses, especially those helping medical groups handle administration, data, pharmacy, or specialty-care operations.
12. Revelstoke Capital Partners
Revelstoke Capital Partners invests in healthcare services, healthcare technology, and health-and-wellness companies. The Denver firm reports $6.8 billion in assets under management, 208 acquisitions, and 176 add-ons as of March 31, 2026.[21]
Its stated focus includes physician-practice management, behavioral health, urgent care, home health, hospice, pharmacy services, Medicare Advantage, and healthcare information technology. Revelstoke generally targets profitable companies with at least $5 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, and it discloses potential equity commitments of $25 million to $350 million per transaction.[22]
Revelstoke also backs Griffin Concierge Medical in Tampa. That gives it direct exposure to membership medicine and a reason to watch the dense Florida concierge medicine market.
Best fit: Profitable physician-led and healthcare-services platforms planning an active acquisition program.
13. Charlesbank Capital Partners and Goldman Sachs Alternatives
Charlesbank Capital Partners invests in middle-market healthcare companies, while Goldman Sachs provides global private-capital scale. Charlesbank reports $24 billion in total assets as of March 31, 2026. Its healthcare experience includes multi-site providers, rural health, behavioral health, pharmacy services, and post-acute care.[23]
The two firms jointly acquired majority ownership of MDVIP in 2021. At the time, MDVIP reported approximately 1,100 affiliated primary care physicians and 362,000 patients.[24] MDVIP has since reported substantial expansion, which NextMD covers in its updated guide to MDVIP's membership and move into specialty care.
This partnership belongs on the list because it connects institutional private equity directly to membership-based primary care. It also shows how two firms can divide a transaction: one contributes middle-market healthcare operating experience, while the other adds a larger global capital network.
Best fit: Scaled provider platforms and healthcare-services businesses large enough to support a joint institutional investment.
14. L Catterton
L Catterton invests in consumer brands and services, including consumer health and membership medicine. Its healthcare exposure has included Thorne, the supplement and diagnostics company that L Catterton agreed to sell to Procter & Gamble for $3.8 billion in August 2026, and SignatureMD, a national concierge-medicine support network.[25]
L Catterton brings a different skill set from a traditional physician-practice investor. Its stated advantage is building consumer brands. That is relevant as patients increasingly compare private medical practices based on service, access, membership experience, and brand trust. NextMD analyzed that strategy when SignatureMD moved from Blue Sea Capital to L Catterton.
Best fit: Consumer-facing healthcare, wellness, membership services, and brands that can grow through marketing, product expansion, or wider distribution.
How Healthcare Private Equity Firms Differ
To compare these firms, start with what each firm is set up to buy and operate.
Global multi-strategy firms
Blackstone, KKR, TPG, Bain Capital, New Mountain, and Goldman Sachs can finance large transactions and invest through several forms of capital. They tend to fit mature platforms, corporate carveouts, technology companies, and life-sciences businesses with substantial capital requirements.
Healthcare-focused buyout firms
Welsh Carson, Linden, Webster, WindRose, and Revelstoke concentrate most or all of their work in healthcare. Their teams may bring more direct pattern recognition around reimbursement, physician compensation, clinical regulation, and referral relationships.
Lower-middle-market builders
Shore, Revelstoke, Webster, and some Charlesbank strategies are particularly relevant to founder-owned medical businesses. Their typical playbook starts with a platform company, then adds smaller practices or service lines around it.
Consumer-health investors
L Catterton approaches healthcare through the patient as a consumer. That can fit membership medicine, supplements, wellness, skincare, and other categories where brand and direct customer relationships matter.
What Physicians and Founders Should Compare Before Choosing a Firm
A high offer price does not tell you how a partnership will operate. Before signing a letter of intent, compare these eight points:
Control: Which decisions remain with physicians, and which move to the board or management-services organization?
Clinical authority: Does the contract protect physician control over diagnosis, treatment, referrals, scheduling, and staffing?
Rolled equity: How much of the sale proceeds must be reinvested, and what rights attach to that new equity?
Debt: How much borrowing will sit at the platform, and can that debt limit hiring or investment during a downturn?
Add-on plan: Is growth based on better operations, acquisitions, higher prices, more patient volume, or all four?
Management fees: What fees will the sponsor or management company charge after closing?
Exit path: Who could own the business after the next sale, and what happens to physician employment agreements then?
Track record with clinicians: Speak with physicians at both current and former portfolio companies.
The ownership question also matters to patients. When a medical practice joins a larger network, billing systems, staffing, prices, scheduling, and the physician's eventual succession plan can change. Our patient guide explains what can happen when a concierge doctor sells or joins a network.
What Patients Should Know About Private Equity Ownership
Private equity ownership alone does not establish the quality of a medical practice. The evidence remains mixed and incomplete.
The American Medical Association found that 6.5% of physicians described their practices as private equity-owned in 2024, up from approximately 4.5% in both 2020 and 2022.[2] A 2025 U.S. Government Accountability Office review found some evidence that private equity investment increased commercial insurance prices in certain specialties. It also concluded that rigorous evidence on quality and access remains limited.[3]
Patients can ask four direct questions:
Who owns the practice and its management company?
Who controls clinical decisions and physician staffing?
Have prices, insurance participation, or appointment policies changed since the transaction?
What happens to medical records and continuity of care if the physician leaves?
Those questions produce more useful information than the ownership label alone.
FAQ
What is the largest healthcare private equity firm?
There is no single reliable answer because firms report different measures. Blackstone, KKR, TPG, Bain Capital, and Goldman Sachs are among the large global managers investing in healthcare. Welsh Carson, GTCR, and Linden disclose particularly deep healthcare-specific histories.
Which private equity firms focus only on healthcare?
Linden Capital Partners, Webster Equity Partners, WindRose Health Investors, and Revelstoke Capital Partners focus primarily or exclusively on healthcare. Shore Capital Partners runs a dedicated healthcare strategy alongside other sector funds.
Which firms invest in physician practices?
Welsh Carson, GTCR, KKR, Webster, Shore, WindRose, Revelstoke, and Charlesbank have direct or adjacent physician-services experience. The exact fit depends on specialty, revenue, profitability, geography, and whether the doctors want to sell control.
Which private equity firms invest in concierge medicine?
Goldman Sachs Alternatives and Charlesbank jointly own MDVIP. L Catterton owns SignatureMD, and Revelstoke backs Griffin Concierge Medical. Shore Capital previously invested in Specialdocs Consultants and now lists it as a realized investment. The structures differ because some companies own or manage networks while others help independent physicians convert their practices.
How does private equity buy a medical practice if state law requires physician ownership?
Many transactions use a physician-owned professional entity for clinical care and a separate management-services organization for nonclinical operations. The private equity firm typically invests in the management company. State corporate-practice-of-medicine laws vary, so every transaction requires state-specific legal review.
Is private equity ownership good or bad for patients?
Ownership alone does not answer that question. Capital can fund technology, new locations, and administrative support. Debt, aggressive growth targets, or reduced physician authority can create risks. Federal reviewers say the available evidence on quality and access remains limited.[3]
Find and Compare Physician-Led Private Practices
Ownership is one part of choosing a doctor. You should also compare the physician's credentials, price, panel size, access policy, insurance model, and plans for continuity of care.
You can search physician-led concierge and direct primary care practices, compare available pricing, and review doctor profiles at NextMD.
Sources
Bain & Company. (2026, January 8). Global healthcare private equity hits record $190 billion deal value in 2025. Read the 2026 healthcare private equity report announcement
American Medical Association. (2025, May 29). More physicians move to practices owned by hospitals and private equity groups. Read the AMA ownership analysis
U.S. Government Accountability Office. (2025, September 22). Health Care Consolidation: Published Estimates of the Extent and Effects of Physician Consolidation. Read GAO-25-107450
Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe. (2024). Responsible Investment Report. Read the WCAS firm report
Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe. (2026). Healthcare Portfolio. View the WCAS healthcare portfolio
GTCR. (2026). Healthcare Private Equity Investment. View GTCR's healthcare strategy and acquisition activity
TPG. (2026). TPG Healthcare. View TPG's healthcare investment platform
Bain Capital. (2026). Healthcare Portfolio. View Bain Capital's healthcare investments
New Mountain Capital. (2026). About Us and Signify Health portfolio history. Read New Mountain Capital's firm overview and view the Signify Health investment history
KKR. (2026). Private Equity: Health Care Growth. Read KKR's healthcare investment strategy
KKR. (2026). Max Lin, Partner, Private Equity. Read KKR's healthcare leadership profile
Blackstone. (2026). Blackstone Life Sciences. Read the Blackstone Life Sciences strategy
Blackstone. (2026). Ram Jagannath, Global Head of Healthcare. Read the Blackstone healthcare leadership profile
Linden Capital Partners. (2026). Our Firm. Read Linden's current firm statistics
Linden Capital Partners. (2025, April 15). Linden Completes Oversubscribed Fund VI Fundraise at $5.4 Billion. Read the Fund VI announcement
Linden Capital Partners. (2026). Investments. View Linden's healthcare portfolio
Webster Equity Partners. (2026). About Webster. Read Webster's current firm statistics
Webster Equity Partners. (2026). Portfolio. View Webster's healthcare investments
Shore Capital Partners. (2026). Healthcare and Mike Cooper portfolio disclosures. View Shore's healthcare strategy and Specialdocs's realized-investment status
WindRose Health Investors. (2026). Portfolio Companies. View WindRose's current and realized investments
Revelstoke Capital Partners. (2026). Elevating Healthcare. Read Revelstoke's current firm statistics
Revelstoke Capital Partners. (2026). Our Firm. Read Revelstoke's investment criteria
Charlesbank Capital Partners. (2026). Our Firm and Culture. Read Charlesbank's current firm statistics
MDVIP. (2021, October 14). Goldman Sachs Asset Management and Charlesbank Capital Partners Complete Acquisition of MDVIP Primary Care Network. Read the MDVIP transaction announcement
L Catterton and Provident Healthcare Partners. (2026). Investments and Q1 2026 Healthcare Services M&A Review. View L Catterton's transaction list, read Provident's Q1 2026 review, and view L Catterton's 2026 firm news