With 38 deals and counting in December, the fourth quarter set a record with 104 announced seniors housing and care acquisitions.
Not even the recent deep freeze that has hit the northeast could slow down the deal making at the end of the year and into 2016. And what a year it was. On the last two days of December alone, we recorded 11 closed transactions with a total value in excess of $300 million, and more keep showing up in our in boxes. That put December’s totals at 38 acquisitions in the seniors housing and care space, and a record-busting 104 transactions in the fourth quarter alone. Perhaps that is why so many people are predicting a slower 2016. But not so fast. New deals have already been announced in January, including the divestiture by Genesis Healthcare of 18 small assisted living communities in Kansas that average just 45 beds each. They really were outside the core business of Genesis, and with an average revenue of about $2,100 per bed, this was not the market they wanted to be in. No price was disclosed, but the majority of the proceeds was used to pay off $54.2 million of a bridge loan, so we estimate the price to be over $70,000 per bed. And let’s just say, we believe that is above the original basis.
