Hospital System M&A | Nebraska Medicine / University of Nebraska Merger (~5.7x EBITDA / 0.63x Revenue)
- Will Hamilton
- Jan 6
- 2 min read
On January 2, 2026, the University of Nebraska and Nebraska Medicine announced the completion of a transaction in which Clarkson, a legacy nonprofit health system, resigned its membership in Nebraska Medicine, effectively transferring its 50% governance interest to the University of Nebraska. The purchase price for Clarkson's 50% interest was $800 million, plus the assumption of outstanding debt and capital lease obligations of approximately $320.4 million as of June 30, 2025, implying a total 100% enterprise value of approximately $1.92 billion.
Nebraska Medicine is one of the largest health systems in the state of Nebraska, operating an academic medical center affiliated with the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) in Omaha. The system provides a full range of clinical services including primary care, specialty medicine, oncology, transplant, and Level I trauma services, and serves as the teaching hospital for UNMC. According to the audited financial statements, Nebraska Medicine generated FY 2025 revenue of approximately $3.0 billion and adjusted EBITDA of approximately $337 million, reflecting an 11.1% margin.
The transaction consolidates governance of one of Nebraska's most prominent academic medical centers under a single university system, positioning Nebraska Medicine for deeper integration with UNMC's research and education mission. The deal is noteworthy both for its scale, ranking among the largest nonprofit hospital system transactions in recent years for its structure as a membership resignation rather than a traditional asset or stock acquisition.
Hospital System EBITDA Multiples
According to the press release, the purchase price was $800m for Clarkson's 50% interest, plus outstanding debt and capital lease obligations of approximately $320.4m as of 6/30/2025. Revenue and adjusted EBITDA from the audited financial statements.
Sources:
Hospital / Health System M&A Deal Volume
The number of announced U.S. general acute care and specialty hospital deals dipped slightly in 2025 after a strong rebound in 2023 and 2024 from the declines that occurred in the second half of 2021 and persisted throughout 2022. Volume averaged 21 per quarter in 2025, down from 24 per quarter in 2024, and up from 18 in 2022.
Other Hospital / Health System Deals
Read Scope Research's take on general acute care hospital M&A transactions:
About Scope Research
The Scope Research Healthcare M&A Valuation Database currently has financial details related to 355 general acute care hospital deals going back to 2013, 198 of which include reported EBITDA multiples. The data can be purchased individually, while our affordable annual subscriptions provide access to all of our healthcare M&A databases and segments, updated continuously.
Don't hesitate to reach out to Will Hamilton at will@scoperesearch.co with questions about your specific situation.
