Welltower and StoryPoint Senior Living Announce Deepening of Strategic Partnership
March 7, 2022
Welltower Inc. (NYSE: WELL) or the “Company” announced that it plans to expand its strategic partnership with StoryPoint Senior Living (“StoryPoint”), a preeminent senior living operator based in Brighton, Michigan. The Company has agreed to purchase three distinct senior living portfolios, subject to customary closing conditions, where StoryPoint will be the operating partner under an aligned RIDEA 3.0 contract, significantly expanding its pre-existing local footprint in these markets.
The portfolios comprise 2,787 units across 33 communities throughout Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee. Assisted living and memory care account for approximately three-quarters of the units, and independent living represent the remainder. The total investment will be approximately $548 million or $197,000 per unit. The transaction is anticipated to be funded through the issuance of operating partnership units, assumed debt, and cash on hand.
With a median vintage of 2016, the communities were largely in lease-up at the onset of the pandemic and, similar to the rest of the industry, were significantly impacted by COVID-related operational challenges. With 63% current average occupancy, these properties are anticipated to generate significant occupancy, margin, and cash flow growth in 2023 and beyond under StoryPoint’s enhanced operating platform. Existing owners will be able to participate in this expected growth through the ownership of the operating partnership units.
“The past four years have been a journey, with the last two being our most challenging to date. We want to have an impact on people’s lives; our employees, residents, and families,” said Dan Hughes, StoryPoint’s CEO. “We set goals around this, then a pandemic struck – and in times like that, you need great partners to achieve success. We navigated the convoluted and demanding times without straying from our mission; that does not happen without Shankh and his team. It began with alignment and is succeeding because of trust. Shankh’s position has always been – tell me what you are trying to accomplish; together, we can figure it out. Our equation for our successful partnership has been simple: alignment and trust.”
“These transactions represent a further evolution in our relationship with StoryPoint and build on our two companies’ success from prior investments,” said Shankh Mitra, Welltower’s CEO and CIO. “In fact, since our highly accretive portfolio sale in 2019, we have regrown our StoryPoint relationship from two operating communities to 74 following the consummation of the announced transactions, demonstrating the ability of great operators to gain market share in the current environment. We pivoted to offense in Fall 2020 starting with Dan and his team; we are extremely proud that the transactions are allowing us to further serve these markets with one of our best operating partners.”
The execution of these transactions, which are expected to generate high-single-digit unlevered IRRs, will bring the Company’s total pro-rata gross investments to $6.8 billion since October 2020 and YTD transactions to $1.2 billion, including Welltower’s previously announced 1Q22 investments.
