Jim Cramer is seeing some amazing action in the world of healthcare. A massive consolidation is happening, and he expects that it is just getting started.
On Friday morning, the market learned that CVS purchased Omnicare in a $12.7 billion transaction. Omnicare is a company that provides medical care to senior citizens, typically in assisted living facilities. Cramer expects that as baby boomers get older, this niche business will continue to grow.
In 2006 CVS acquired pharmacy benefit manager Caremark, and then removed tobacco out of its stores. This was done in order to transform itself into CVS Health, which is less of a drugstore chain and more focused on healthcare.
Likewise, Rite-Aid similarly purchased pharmacy benefit manager Envision Pharmaceutical Services for $2 billion.
And now Cramer wants Walgreens Boots Alliance to step up to the plate, too, and either buy a company that helps to control drug costs or merge with one. Why the heck couldn't its formal partner McKesson merge with it?
It wouldn't surprise Cramer to see further consolidation in the world of health maintenance organizations. It just doesn't make sense to have Anthem, Humana, Aetna, Cigna and United Health.
"I can see a world where five becomes three very easily," the "Mad Money" host said.
The same theories can be applied to drug companies and generic drugmakers. There have been some serious merger and acquisition talks in these groups, and Cramer was stunned when Deutsche Bank suggested Pfizer could merge soon with GlaxoSmithKline.
Why is all of this consolidation happening? Cramer sees three reasons:
No. 1 Too much competition! The players are all bashing each other's heads in to compete.
No. 2 Consumers, like doctors and hospitals, don't want so many providers calling on them.
No. 3 The government has gotten stingy, and many companies won't be able to make their long-term profit forecasts.
"It is why I think that owning a drug company or a biotech is a must," Cramer said.
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The "Mad Money" host likes Rite-Aid and Walgreen's, and suggested that there could be many more deals that could come to fruition before the summer begins.
Every time one of these deals happens, the healthcare group moves. And that is exactly why Cramer says you must own one of these stocks.
"Right now healthcare is the single best group in town," he said. (Tweet This)
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