Ryan Thomas, chair of Bass Berry & Sims’ national Private Equity practice, provided insight for “The 2026 M&A Outlook” article published by Mergers & Acquisitions – The Middle Market. This article is part of a week-long series examining trends and factors that will influence dealmaking in 2026. Ryan provided the below comments on the healthcare sector and his expectations for the coming year.
“The autism and applied behavior analysis (ABA) space seem ripe for continued growth and M&A especially as the unmet need for these services only continues to grow. This space has had its ups and downs, but of late it appears the better of these businesses have managed to mitigate many of the down-falls of some of the earlier platforms, including more successfully addressing payor dynamics and reimbursement, creatively addressing or combining site of care opportunities, whether school-based, in home or in owned centers, combining additional therapies under one service platform or location, expanding telemedicine offerings and addressing qualified labor shortages and constraints by growing organically to leverage existing workforce. We are also seeing positive signs of growth in qualified labor, additional payor funding into the space and related policy initiatives, which are all positive tailwinds. As these treatment companies continue to progress and execute these initiatives coupled with positive industry dynamics, deal activity in the space should only accelerate in 2026,” said Ryan.
The full article, “The 2026 M&A Outlook” was published by Mergers & Acquisitions – The Middle Market on December 31 and is available online. Ryan’s insights on the M&A outlook for 2026 were also included in the Mergers & Acquisitions – The Middle Market article, “Eight Factors That Will Drive More M&A in 2026,” that published on December 2.