Welltower is betting big on top-shelf senior housing, both at home and in Canada.
The Ohio-based healthcare and senior housing REIT announced Sunday that it will spend nearly $3.2B on Amica Senior Lifestyles’ portfolio of 38 ultra-luxury senior housing communities and nine entitled development parcels in affluent neighborhoods in Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia, and Toronto.
The purchase from the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan is slated to close in the fourth quarter and comes just weeks after Welltower announced it would spend nearly $1B on 25 senior housing communities from Affinity Living Communities in the Pacific Northwest.
The firm’s spending on acquisitions has accelerated as senior housing demand is expected to eclipse supply by nearly 400,000 units by 2030. Welltower spent more than $6B during the first three quarters of 2024, surpassing the company’s total for the entirety of 2023.
Welltower’s latest deal includes 31 in-place properties. Seven of those are still in lease-up, and the rest are stabilized communities. Welltower is also set to acquire seven additional properties that are under construction as they receive their certificates of occupancy over the next two years.
Welltower CEO Shankh Mitra called the portfolio the company is purchasing from Amica the “highest quality” one in North America.
“Against a backdrop of rapidly growing demand and limited new supply, we expect the portfolio to drive outsized revenue and cash flow growth in the coming years,” Mitra said in a statement.
Along with the deal, Welltower announced it would form a long-term strategic partnership with Amica Senior Lifestyles. Welltower is set to purchase a minority interest in the firm’s management company.
“We also believe that we will be key beneficiaries of Welltower’s industry-leading data science capabilities which will help scale our platform,” Amica CEO Jens Cermak said in a statement.
Welltower’s $175M sale of five communities to Brookdale Senior Living also closed last week.
Brookdale had previously leased the communities’ 686 units in affluent U.S. markets. Its sale price included a purchase option discount and was one of two portfolio acquisitions the company closed for a combined $310M.
Brookdale also acquired a 25-community portfolio from Diversified Healthcare Trust for $135M. It previously leased those locations.
