(Reuters) – Real estate income trust Welltower is set to expand its operations in Canada by acquiring luxury senior homes operator Amica Senior Lifestyles’ portfolio from the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan for C$4.6 billion ($3.18 billion), Welltower said on Sunday.
As part of the deal, Welltower said it will assume C$560 million in Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp insured debt.
The portfolio from Amica consists of 38 luxury seniors-housing communities, 9 entitled development parcels, including a 31-property in-place portfolio, Welltower said.
The REIT will also form a long-term partnership with Amica’s management by acquiring minority interest in the private-pay retirement residences firm’s management company, it said in a statement.
Welltower said that apart from the in-place portfolio, it also will acquire seven properties currently under construction that are expected to be completed between 2025 and 2027.
In 2015, Ontario Teachers — one of the world’s largest pension plans — through its BayBridge unit took Amica Mature Lifestyles private https://www.reuters.com/article/business/ontario-teachers-owned-baybridge-to-buy-senior-homes-operator-amica-idUSKCN0R21OC/ for C$578 million and merged https://www.otpp.com/en-ca/about-us/news-and-insights/portfolio-insights/amica-senior-lifestyles-investing-in-premium-seniors-housing/ it with its seniors-housing subsidiary to create Amica Senior Lifestyles.
Established in 1996, Amica owns and operates over 30 residences in British Columbia and Ontario, according to its website https://www.amica.ca/press.
The deal would further expand Ohio-based Welltower’s operations in Canada. It already has a presence in the United States, Canada and the UK, where it owns housing, outpatient medical centers and healthcare properties with a focus on older adults and assisted living.
Welltower said it expects the deal to close in the fourth quarter of 2025.
(Reporting by Bipasha Dey in Bengaluru; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
