Seniors Housing And Care M&A Activity Cools Slightly In Q3:2019, According To Acquisition Data From Irving Levin Associates, Inc.

The number of publicly announced seniors housing and care acquisitions in the third quarter of 2019 topped 100 transactions for the sixth quarter in a row, with 101 total transactions announced, based on new acquisition data from Irving Levin Associates. This represents a 12% drop from the 115 transactions announced in the second quarter of 2019 and a 15% drop from the 119 in the third quarter of 2018. However, buyers committed $5.7 billion to seniors housing and care deals in the third quarter, 36% higher than the $4.2 billion in Q2:19, 111% higher than the $2.7 billion in Q1:19, and a whopping 171% higher than Q3:18’s total of $2.1 billion. “Labor and occupancy headwinds, particularly in assisted living, have not stopped the flow of capital into the seniors housing sector, keeping values steady and M&A activity on track to surpass 400 deals in 2019,” stated Ben Swett, Editor of The SeniorCare Investor.

As in previous quarters, private senior care operating companies were the most active acquirers, making 48% of the quarter’s acquisitions, but private equity firms, REITs and private real estate investors accounted for a strong 52% of the deals. Three companies, including an operator, a PE firm and a REIT, publicly announced four acquisitions each: The Ensign Group, Chicago Pacific Founders and Welltower. Welltower also took part in the largest transaction of the quarter, selling its entire Benchmark Senior Living portfolio to KKR & Co. for $1.8 billion.

Seniors housing, consisting of independent living, assisted living and memory care properties, yet again attracted most of the interest from investors, representing 58% of the quarter’s deals and accounting for six of the top-seven deals, by price. “Meanwhile, many owners and operators in the skilled nursing market are cautiously optimistic about the recent implementation of PDPM,” continued Swett. “That, combined with investors’ search for yield, has continued to draw interest and dollars into the sector for both stabilized and value-add assets.”

All quarterly results are published in The Health Care M&A Report for all 13 sectors of health care, which is part of the HealthCareMandA.com. In addition, annual results of the seniors housing and care acquisition markets were published this year in two separate reports: The Seniors Housing Acquisition and Investment Report, and The Skilled Nursing Acquisition and Investment Report. These comprehensive reports each have more than 150 pages of transaction details and valuation statistics. For information, or to order the reports, call 800-248-1668. Irving Levin Associates was established in 1948 and has headquarters in Norwalk, Connecticut. The company publishes research reports and newsletters, and maintains databases on the healthcare and seniors housing M&A markets.