Nelson Advisors interviewed by Healthcare Business International regarding hims & hers acquisition of Eucalyptus
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Nelson Advisors Partner Lloyd Price interviewed by Healthcare Business International regarding hims & hers acquisition of Australian Digital Health platform Eucalyptus
Lloyd Price, partner at M&A advisory firm Nelson Advisors, a consultancy that focuses exclusively on the healthcare technology (healthtech) and medical technology (medtech) sectors, tells HBI the acquisition serves both defensive and offensive purposes.
“Strategically, it hedges against rising US regulatory risks surrounding compounded GLP‑1 drugs and DTC (direct-to-consumer) advertising, which have already impacted Hims through investigations and strained partnerships,” Price tells us.
The move comes amid scrutiny of Hims & Hers’ compounded GLP-1 offerings, including a withdrawn copy of the compounded version of weight loss pill Wegovy from Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk, which triggered action from the Food and Drug Administration and a patent lawsuit. Despite strong growth in 2025, where the company recorded a 59% year- over-year growth in revenue to $2.35 billion, shares fell over 7% due to weaker than expected 2026 guidance.
Strategic buyers are increasingly using acquisitions to expand into new markets and patient populations, as shown by Hims’ purchase of Eucalyptus, rather than traditional and local market-focused ‘buy and build’ strategies. Buyers now prefer scaled, multi‑condition platforms with strong regulatory, clinical, and data credentials over small point solutions, Price tells us.
In the last few months, I have heard the phrase “Venture Capital has seeded and built the digital health market, private equity will now scale and make the market…” says Price.
“High‑growth verticals like metabolic health, behavioural health, community care, and women’s health sit at the centre of a lot of PE fund interest in Europe, the US, and Asia.
Top acquisition targets will be multi‑market‑ready platforms with clinical and regulatory sophistication, well evidenced and demonstrable financial or operational ROI — not just strong user engagement,” he tells us.
However, rather than paying high, upfront cash multiples like before 2021, investors now prefer more structured deals with earn‑outs tied to recurring revenue, margin growth, and increasing regulatory strength, as per Price.
“The Hims–Eucalyptus deal exemplifies this range, with a mix of headline and performance‑linked valuation through earn‑outs. As M&A activity rebounds, top‑tier healthtech assets are expected to see modest multiple expansion driven by quality and competition, while weaker assets will stay in discounted, highly structured deal territory,”
Price tells HBI.