Welltower's Affiliate to Acquire NorthStar Healthcare for $900M

Welltower, Inc. WELL recently announced that its affiliate plans to acquire NorthStar Healthcare and its portfolio of 40 senior living communities in an all-cash transaction for approximately $900 million.The proposed acquisition, subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close in the first half of 2025. The acquisition has been unanimously approved by NorthStar Healthcare's board of directors, while shareholders of NorthStar Healthcare will vote on the merger at a special meeting. The merger is not subject to a financing condition.Terms of the Merger AgreementNorthStar Healthcare's shareholders will receive $3.03 per share in cash, which surpasses the net asset value per share of $2.96 decided by the company’s board of directors as of June 30, 2024.NorthStar Healthcare's board of directors and advisors are permitted to initiate, solicit and consider alternative acquisition proposals for 40 days, starting from the date of the merger agreement. NorthStar Healthcare has the right to terminate the agreement with Welltower to accept a superior proposal subject to the terms and conditions of the agreement.WELL's Management CommentaryPer Nikhil Chaudhri, co-president and CIO of Welltower, "We are delighted to have reached an agreement to acquire NorthStar's portfolio of 40 seniors housing communities, which portfolio, subject to satisfaction of closing conditions and closing under the merger agreement, Welltower anticipates will be allocated to an entity affiliated with its recently announced funds management business."Wrapping UpWith the company’s current geographic reach and network of outstanding senior housing operators, it is anticipated that this portfolio will strengthen the company’s regional densification strategy.Welltower is poised to benefit from its diversified portfolio of healthcare real estate assets in the key markets of the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. An aging population and an expected rise in senior citizens’ healthcare expenditure are likely to aid the senior housing operating portfolio’s growth. The outpatient medical segment is expected to benefit from favorable outpatient visit trends.Over the past six months, shares of this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company have gained 21.5%, outperforming the industry’s decline of 3.7%. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Other Stocks to ConsiderSome other top-ranked stocks from the healthcare REIT sector are CareTrust REIT CTRE and Sabra Healthcare REIT SBRA, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CareTrust’s 2024 FFO per share is pinned at $1.50, which suggests year-over-year growth of 6.4%.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Sabra’s 2024 FFO per share stands at $1.42, which indicates an increase of 6.8% from the year-ago period.Note: Anything related to earnings presented in this write-up represents funds from operations (FFO) — a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs.5 Stocks Set to DoubleEach was handpicked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2024. While not all picks can be winners, previous recommendations have soared +143.0%, +175.9%, +498.3% and +673.0%.Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Sabra Healthcare REIT, Inc. (SBRA): Free Stock Analysis Report CareTrust REIT, Inc. (CTRE): Free Stock Analysis Report Welltower Inc. (WELL): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks