Chinese Investor Offers $3B to Acquire Tennessee-Based Brookdale, Reuters Reports

BRENTWOOD, TENN. — Zhonghong Zhuoye Group Co. Ltd., a Chinese real estate investor, has reportedly offered approximately $3 billion for the acquisition of Brookdale Senior Living, according to a report by news agency Reuters, which cited people familiar with the matter. If the Brookdale deal were completed as reported, it would be by far the largest Chinese investment in U.S. seniors housing to date. Headquartered in Brentwood, Brookdale is by far the largest owner and operator of seniors housing in the United States. Its operational portfolio includes 1,052 properties and 103,00 units, according to the company’s first-quarter report, which is nearly triple the size of the next largest competitor. The company has struggled since its $2.8 billion acquisition of fellow seniors housing giant Emeritus in 2014. After initially experiencing a lift in the months following the merger, Brookdale’s stock price fell from $38.16 per share on March 2, 2015, to $11.80 per share on Feb. 8, 2016. Rumors of a sale of the company have swirled for months. Following the Reuters report on Tuesday, Brookdale’s stock price saw a brief lift of 6 percent to as high as $15.18 per share, but quickly fell back down to a close of $14.07 per share. As markets prepared to open this morning, however, Google Finance predicted that overnight trading will give the stocks a 10 percent lift to approximately $15.50 per share. Negotiations are private and ongoing, which is why the sources requested anonymity, according to Reuters. The sources also noted that Brookdale has previously received other offers for a buyout, but all “valued [Brookdale] substantially below” the Zhonghong offer.