Podcast Summary: Inside the Healthcare Deal Market with Craig Sager of Provident Healthcare Partners

Podcast: Becker Business
Host: Scott Becker
Guest: Craig Sager, Managing Director, Provident Healthcare Partners
Date: October 18, 2025
Episode: Inside the Healthcare Deal Market

Overview

In this special joint episode of the Becker’s Healthcare and Becker Private Equity & Business Podcast, Scott Becker interviews Craig Sager, an experienced healthcare investment banker and MD at Provident Healthcare Partners. The discussion explores the current trends, challenges, and opportunities in the healthcare deals market, with a special focus on investment banking, buyer dynamics, and the evolving landscape in healthcare technology and behavioral health. Craig shares behind-the-scenes insights from his dual experience on both the buy and sell sides, and reflects on where he sees the most excitement and activity for the year ahead.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Craig Sager’s Background and Provident Healthcare Partners

[00:41 - 03:01]

• Craig Sager has 15 years in healthcare M&A, split between investment banking (Provident Health Partners), corporate development (including Optum), and private equity.
• Provident was founded in the late 1990s as one of the first healthcare-specialized investment banks, now with 27 years of history, 30 bankers, and three offices.
• As an intermediary, Provident serves as a "river guide" for organizations navigating transaction processes, whether selling entirely, taking on private equity partners, or raising minority capital.
• They connect thriving healthcare organizations to significant institutional capital, addressing an ecosystem flush with "dry powder" seeking deployment.

Notable Quote

“Our job as a firm, my job as an MD here at Provident, is to really be the river guide for organizations going through a transaction process.”
— Craig Sager [01:52]

Types of Engagements and Clientele

[03:01 – 04:29]

• 75% of clients are founder-owned healthcare organizations; 25% are private equity portfolio companies.
• Provident largely engages outside of life sciences/drug development, with strengths in healthcare services, healthcare technology, provider services, behavioral health, staffing, payer services, and durable medical equipment (DME).
• Deals can involve a lone founder or as many as 130 doctor-shareholders.

Market Activity: What’s Hot and What’s Not

[04:29 – 06:25]

• The lower middle market ($20M–$500M in enterprise value) is the most active, compared to a slowdown in larger-scale (>$500M) transactions.
• Provider practice management (PPM) was very active in preceding years but has seen slowed activity due to consolidation and staffing shortages.
• Increased deal flow in behavioral health and healthcare technology, especially companies differentiating through tech enablement and value-based care.

Notable Quote

“We made a really good living years ago doing PPM—provider practice management organizations... There’s definitely been less activity there... So we’re doing more and more in behavioral health.”
— Craig Sager [05:27]

Healthcare Tech and Tech-Enabled Business Trends

[06:25 – 07:52]

• Activity is dispersed across the tech spectrum: end-to-end solutions (EMR, analytics, RCM, etc.) and highly specialized (“niche”) point solutions.
• Growing importance of tools for value-based care analytics and AI applications for staffing and retention.
• Most businesses in the space remain point solutions, finding it challenging to become fully integrated platforms.

Notable Quote

“More times than not they’re more nichy point solutions... Building a true end-to-end solution takes a lot of sophistication.”
— Craig Sager [07:54]

Investor Types: Venture, Private Equity, and Minority Growth

[08:33 – 10:40]

• Over a thousand capital groups with healthcare focus—ranging from PE funds seeking control to VCs making minority investments.
• Traditional private equity still favors control deals in service-based companies, while venture and growth equity commonly invest in minority stakes in technology firms.
• Tech-focused companies receive more “bets” from VCs, acknowledging higher risk and potential reward.

Areas of Personal Focus and Excitement for 2025

[10:40 – 11:59]

• Craig is deeply engaged in behavioral health, where investment and payer activity are in their “early innings” compared to more mature sectors.
• The space is dynamic, with new solutions in mental health, IDD, autism, and eating disorders, all demanding different approaches.
• Behavioral health is poised for significant growth and eventual consolidation, but for now, it remains fresh with capital flowing in and unique companies emerging.

Notable Quote

“Every company we look at or evaluate, helping them [with] their growth initiatives... people have a different sort of game plan, a different approach. It makes it really interesting.”
— Craig Sager [11:29]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the investment banking role:
  “We’re an intermediary... an important part of the ecosystem that really helps connect dots.”
  — Craig Sager [02:38]

• On the competitive market:
  “It’s more and more competitive these days. There’s a lot more healthcare investment banks, but we’ve been doing this since day one.”
  — Craig Sager [01:24]

• On growth in behavioral health:
  “We’re starting to see more and more capital deployed into [behavioral health], and we’re still years away from it having as much consolidation as we see in some other sectors. But... there’s a lot of cool stuff going on.”
  — Craig Sager [11:42]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:41] Craig Sager’s background and Provident Healthcare Partners
• [03:17] Types of organizations and sectors served
• [04:55] Hottest and slowest sectors in healthcare deals
• [06:43] Activity and trends in health tech and tech-enabled businesses
• [07:52] Platforms vs. point solutions in health tech
• [09:04] The mix of venture, private equity, and growth equity in healthcare deals
• [10:52] Craig’s focus and excitement: Behavioral health

Conclusion

Scott Becker and Craig Sager provide an inside look at the dynamic healthcare deal market, stressing the shifts toward behavioral health and technology, as well as the evolving strategies of investors. Craig’s practical perspective from both the buy and sell sides gives listeners a granular sense of where deals are happening, what buyers want, and how the sector is changing—especially for founder-led organizations navigating an increasingly complex and capital-rich landscape.