Senior housing and care acquisitions double from third to fourth quarter 2016

Publicly announced senior housing and care acquisitions in the fourth quarter of 2016 soared to $6.5 billion, more than double the $2.9 billion posted in the previous quarter, according to new data from The SeniorCare Investor. That figure is also a significant leap from the $2.3 billion in activity that took place in the fourth quarter of 2015.

The number of announced acquisitions in the fourth quarter jumped by 33 percent from the third quarter to 93 individual transactions, even though this was down from the record 106 transactions in last year's fourth quarter. Those 93 deals represent the third most active quarter ever.

[Also: Merger activity among physician medical groups stays steady in fourth quarter 2016, data shows]

For the full year, based on preliminary numbers, there were 337 publicly announced senior housing and care acquisitions, representing a 6 percent decrease from the record 359 transactions in 2015. The 337 transactions represent the second highest level ever achieved in any year.

The total dollar volume of senior housing and care M&A activity in 2016 was slightly higher than in 2015, reaching $14.4 billion compared with $14.2 billion in 2015.

[Also: Payer mergers could help lower prices paid to providers, study suggests]

"Much of the spike in dollar volume in the fourth quarter represented the repositioning of large portfolios by a few of the healthcare (real estate investment trusts), which will strengthen their financial condition for future acquisition activity," said Steve Monroe, managing editor of The SeniorCare Investor and editor of The Senior Care Acquisition Report, in a statement. "It may also set the stage for some of the buyers of those portfolios to expand their investments in the seniors housing and care market." 

The REITs with the largest sales of portfolios included HCP and Welltower.

Twitter: @JELagasse