LOUISVILLE, KY., WINTER PARK, FLA., AND TOLDEO, OHIO — In a massive blockbuster deal for seniors housing, the seventh-largest operator of seniors housing in the United States (Atria Senior Living) will acquire the third-largest (Holiday Retirement), with the largest owner in the country (Welltower) buying up a large portfolio of the affected assets. Atria, a privately held seniors housing operator based in Louisville, has agreed to buy the operations business of Winter Park-based Holiday Retirement. Meanwhile, Toledo-based REIT Welltower (NYSE: WELL) will buy the 86 properties that Holiday owns and self-manages for slightly less than $1.6 billion. Holiday currently manages 240 communities in 43 states, largely in the independent living sector. The combined company will employ more than 19,000 staffers to serve over 45,000 residents. The new firm will manage 447 communities across 45 states and seven Canadian provinces. The newly combined entity will be the second-largest seniors housing operator in the country, behind only Brookdale Senior Living. After the transaction, Atria will manage more than 250 “nearly identical” communities and higher end properties such as the recently opened Atria Newport Beach in Southern California, as well as luxury urban properties that Atria is co-developing in a joint venture with …
