The Ensign Group, Inc. Acquires Assets of Three Previously Leased ...( MISSION VIEJO Calif. Dec. 13 /- T...),Health

MISSION VIEJO, Calif., Dec. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Ensign Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: ENSG), the parent company of the Ensign(TM) group of skilled nursing, rehabilitative care services and assisted living companies, announced today that it completed the purchase of two skilled nursing facilities in California and one assisted living facility in Arizona for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $12.8 million.

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Previously leased facilities are now owned

The three facilities, which include 123 skilled nursing beds, 90 assisted living units and 84 independent living units, were acquired from affiliates of Healthcare Property Investors, Inc. (NYSE: HCP), which has previously sold two other facilities to Ensign(TM) affiliates. The acquisitions were completed by three separate holding affiliates of The Ensign Group, Inc. Prior to the acquisitions, operating subsidiaries of The Ensign Group, Inc. operated these three facilities under a master lease agreement, which was terminated upon the closing of the transaction. These three operators will continue to operate the facilities under new leases with the acquiring Ensign(TM) affiliates.

Proceeds of Ensign's(TM) recent initial public offering were used to complete the transactions. The acquisitions bring the number of owned facilities in Ensign's(TM) combined portfolio to 26. Ensign(TM) affiliate
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