DALLAS — Owner and operator Sonida Senior Living Inc. (NYSE: SNDA) has entered into a definitive merger agreement to acquire CNL Healthcare Properties (CHP), a non-traded public REIT, in a deal valued at $1.8 billion.
Upon completion of the merger, the combined company will be the eighth-largest senior living owner, with a portfolio of 153 independent living, assisted living and memory care communities and enterprise value of $3 billion. CHP ranked as the 22nd-largest owner in the 2025 edition of the ASHA 50, which is based on figures from June 1, and Sonida ranked as the 23rd-largest owner. Sonida also ranked as the 19th-largest operator.
Under the agreement, Dallas-based Sonida will acquire 100 percent of CHP in a cash and stock transaction. The transaction is expected to close in the first or second quarter of 2026, subject to customary closing conditions. Both the Sonida and CHP board of directors unanimously approved the merger.
“We are extremely pleased to announce this transformational deal, which will generate immediate per share earnings accretion and meaningful long-term value for all shareholders following closing,” said Brandon Ribar, president and CEO of Sonida, in a statement. “Sonida’s overarching objective is to capitalize on the long-term tailwinds of favorable demographics and supply constraints within senior living by operating and growing a best-in-class owner-operator platform. This transaction represents an inflection point in our pursuit of that objective, as it more than doubles Sonida’s number of owned units while deepening and expanding our exposure to the most attractive geographic areas for our strategy.” According to Sonida, the company’s asset management team is looking into dispositions in low-growth, non-strategic markets.
Financing for the acquisition will include cash provided by Conversant Capital and Silk Partners — the two largest Sonida shareholders — and debt financing from RBC Capital Markets and BMO Capital Markets.
According to Sonida’s 2025 third-quarter results, occupancy across its same-store portfolio was at 87.7 percent, a year-over-year increase of 60 basis points. Ahead of the merger, Sonida’s portfolio comprises 97 seniors housing communities that the company owns, manages or invests in, including 84 owned properties. In total, the portfolio serves roughly 10,250 residents.
CHP’s current portfolio comprises 69 seniors housing communities with 7,535 units across 26 states.