60 Seconds with Swett: Skilled Nursing M&A in 2023 and Beyond
Skilled nursing investors, operators and dealmakers have been on quite the rollercoaster the last several years, with COVID initially threatening the life of the industry quickly shifting to an exuberant M&A market that saw buyers clamor for facilities of all qualities, and paying up for them too. Now, higher capital costs have tempered some of that excitement, and the industry faces a new threat: the minimum staffing mandate. It is safe to say, the party is over, but M&A volume has not fallen off a cliff either. Neither have values. So, how are dealmakers evaluating this new market we are in, and how will investment strategies, the lending environment or valuations change? Join us... Read More »
Blueprint’s Recent Activity
We have said it before: the senior care M&A market has been an enigma. The difficult capital markets environment combined with operational distress in the industry has reduced buyer demand, increased lender scrutiny of deals and lowered values to a level that discourages potential sellers from entering the market. Headaches involving sourcing debt, soaring insurance costs and skittish (some would say fickle) buyers/lenders have made each transaction that much more difficult to complete. Despite all of this, M&A activity is, at first glance, still at historically high levels. In the third quarter of 2023, 115 deals were publicly announced. That is down from the 140 transactions made... Read More »
60 Seconds with Monroe: Finding A Solution For LTC Funding
My friend Stephen Moses, president of the Center for Long-Term Care Reform, has been a consistent and persistent advocate for reforming the Medicaid system and getting Americans out of the Medicaid-dependency mindset. He just published, with the Paragon Health Institute, the follow-on to his paper “Long-Term Care: The Problem.” Available now is “Long-Term Care: The Solution.” While I was hoping for something completely new and creative, I can’t disagree with his recommendations, which include 1) stop the ability to purchase Medicaid-exempt assets, 2) eliminate the home equity exemption, 3) ban Medicaid Asset Protection Trusts, 4) disallow Medicaid compliant annuities, and 5) increase the... Read More »
Brookdale Occupancy Continues to Grow
As we have mentioned time and again, the seniors housing industry needs Brookdale Senior Living to succeed. While census continues to increase, the pace needs to increase as well before we head into the flu season this winter, which usually sees a drop in census. Many providers were spared this seasonal decline in census last year, as the industry’s recovery was stronger than the flu season. But Brookdale lost 90 basis points of census in the first quarter this year. September’s weighted average occupancy increased 60 basis points from August, to 78.2%. Month-end occupancy in September increased by 40 basis points from August, to 79.7%, inching closer to that psychological 80% level. But... Read More »
