WSJ: Brookdale Senior In Deal Talks With Blackstone, Others

January 10, 2017

Brookdale Senior Living Inc (BKD.N) is in talks with private equity firm Blackstone Group LP (BX.N) and others about a potential deal to sell a part or all of the company, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Shares of Brookdale, which had a market value of $2.39 billion as of Monday’s close, jumped 14.6 percent to $14.73. The talks are at an early stage and may not lead to a deal, the Journal reported on Tuesday. Brookdale and Blackstone declined to comment.

Brookdale operates independent living, assisted living and dementia-care communities, with 1,077 communities in 47 U.S. states.

The company has been under pressure after activist hedge fund Land and Buildings Investment Management LLC issued a letter to Brookdale’s shareholders last month, seeking a sale of the company’s real estate.

Land and Buildings, which had a 0.3 percent stake in Brookdale as of Sept. 30, had also asked Brookdale to transition to an asset-light senior housing management company.

Up to Monday’s close, Brookdale’s shares had fallen about 63 percent since February 2015, when another activist investor, Sandell Asset Management, pushed the company to aggressively explore opportunities to monetize its real estate.