NEW CANAAN, CONN. (PRWEB) JANUARY 13, 2021 – The number of publicly announced seniors housing and care acquisitions in the fourth quarter of 2020 rose to a record high, with 120 deals announced, based on new acquisition data from Irving Levin Associates. This represents a 107% increase from the 58 transactions in the previous quarter and 5% higher than the 114 deals made public in the fourth quarter of 2019. Also, the $2.52 billion spent on the fourth quarter transactions surpassed the previous quarter’s total of $1.49 billion by 69%, based on publicly disclosed prices. However, compared with the fourth quarter of 2019, which saw $3.73 billion spent, dollar volume was 32% lower.
“As seniors began to receive the first doses of COVID-19 vaccines, investors were unleashed on the M&A market in the fourth quarter of 2020,” stated Ben Swett, Editor of The SeniorCare Investor. “Lenders gave the go-ahead on dozens of deals that were delayed because of the pandemic, leading to record transaction volume.”
Portfolio deals were prevalent in the fourth quarter, particularly for skilled nursing facilities, with 26 portfolio sales (three properties or more) announced, versus eight in the third quarter and 10 in the second quarter. Those portfolio sales in the fourth quarter accounted for well over 170 properties. There were four deals that surpassed $100 million in publicly disclosed value, including Eagle Arc Partners’ purchase of 20 skilled nursing facilities in the Southeast for more than $300 million, and Welltower’s $200 million sale of six seniors housing communities around the Boston, Massachusetts area to a fund co-managed by global private equity firm Taurus Investment Holdings and Northbridge Asset Management.
Unlike previous quarters, skilled nursing deals represented a majority of fourth quarter M&A, in terms of both transactions (52%) and properties (more than 70%). “Average skilled nursing occupancy plummeted during the pandemic, but federal relief has stabilized many facilities’ bottom lines. Also, both residents and staff have been among the first to receive the vaccine. These factors have given buyers the green light to start acquiring value-add facilities again,” added Swett. Once again, assisted living and memory care made up the majority of the seniors housing deals, or 51%, followed by independent living with 17% of the share, affordable seniors housing with 16%, active adult with 10% and CCRCs accounting for 5% of the seniors housing deals.
All long-term care M&A deals dating back to 1993 can be accessed on the Deal Search Online database and can be purchased via a site license. 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 last year in the 25th Edition of The Senior Care Acquisition Report. The comprehensive report has 400 pages of transaction details and valuation statistics in a two-volume set, separated out by seniors housing and skilled nursing. The 26th Edition will be available by March 2021. For information, or to order the reports, call 800-248-1668. Irving Levin Associates was established in 1948 and has headquarters in New Canaan, Connecticut. The company publishes research reports and newsletters and maintains databases on the healthcare and seniors housing M&A markets.