‘Rip the Band-Aid’: Welltower to Divest $1.3B of Integra-Related Nursing Home Assets, $800M Sold in 4Q
•February 11, 2026
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Why It Matters
The divestiture accelerates Welltower’s transition away from low‑growth, government‑dependent nursing homes toward higher‑margin senior‑housing assets, boosting earnings potential and appealing to growth‑focused investors.
Key Takeaways
- •Sold $800M Integra assets in Q4 2025.
- •Total 2026 divestments target $1.3B.
- •Senior housing now 70% of portfolio.
- •Skilled nursing NOI growth forecast 2‑3%.
- •Proceeds fund higher‑growth senior housing acquisitions.
Pulse Analysis
Welltower’s recent asset sales reflect a strategic pivot that began with its 2018 acquisition of a Quality Care Properties portfolio at an exceptionally low per‑unit price. Partnering with ProMedica and later transitioning the assets to the Integra joint venture, the company applied a decentralized operator model that lifted EBITDAR by over $500 million in just two and a half years. This turnaround demonstrated that even distressed skilled‑nursing facilities can generate value when local operators are empowered, setting the stage for the current monetization phase.
In the fourth quarter of 2025, Welltower closed $800 million of Integra‑related skilled‑nursing sales and signaled an additional $500 million sale by year‑end, effectively exiting roughly half of that portfolio. The proceeds helped lift normalized FFO to $5.29 per share, outpacing consensus, while the firm’s senior‑housing segment now accounts for 70% of its assets and is projected to grow 15‑21% annually. By contrast, same‑store NOI growth for post‑acute care is expected at a modest 2‑3%, underscoring why the REIT is reallocating capital away from government‑reliant nursing homes.
For investors and industry observers, Welltower’s disciplined capital redeployment signals confidence in the private‑pay senior‑housing market’s upside. The firm plans to use the cash to acquire high‑growth senior‑housing platforms in the U.S. and U.K., such as the recent Barchester purchase, while maintaining flexibility to pursue opportunistic deals. This approach not only improves earnings stability but also positions Welltower as a leading player in a sector where demographic trends and higher reimbursement rates are driving robust demand for upscale senior living communities.
‘Rip the Band-Aid’: Welltower to Divest $1.3B of Integra-Related Nursing Home Assets, $800M Sold in 4Q
Welltower Inc. (NYSE: WELL) expects total Integra Health portfolio divestments in 2026 to reach roughly $1.3 billion, with company officials providing additional details on the assets and on Welltower’s acquisition strategy, which is currently aimed at reducing its skilled nursing and post-acute care exposure.
In the last quarter of 2025, Welltower sold $800 million of skilled nursing properties through its Integra Health joint venture and plans to sell an additional $500 million, disposing about 50% of this portfolio, CEO Shankh Mitra said during the company’s quarterly earnings call, describing the sale as example of a deliberate and highly successful long-term growth strategy.
“Integra asset sale marks one of the most successful full circle transactions executed by our management team,” Mitra said, adding, “capital allocation does not solely involve acquisitions, but also includes disposition activity to methodically shape the portfolio’s future growth. It is not about the here and now, but the duration of growth.”
Overall, the company deployed $11 billion in net investment capital, closed 90 transactions, and acquired more than 1,000 properties, including 175 under construction projects. Its senior housing concentration increased to 70% of its total holdings.
In the fourth quarter of 2025, Welltower reported a normalized funds from operations (FFO) per share of $1.45, beating analyst consensus estimates of $1.41. The company recorded revenues of $3.18 billion in the quarter.
For 2025, the Toledo, Ohio-based company reported a normalized FFO per share of $5.29, up from the prior year’s $4.32.
On Wednesday, shares of Welltower closed at $207.88, up $7.04, or 3.51%.
Integra assets bought at ‘exceptionally low’ bed prices
Welltower’s partnership with Integra dates back to 2022. But it all began with Welltower acquiring a portfolio of facilities from Quality Care Properties (QCP) in 2018 at an “exceptionally low” valuation of approximately $57,000 per unit, a business update released in tandem with the quarterly results stated. These assets were then transitioned to ProMedica in a deal Mitra lauded: ProMedica had a 20% stake in the real estate and agreed to reduce Welltower’s risk exposure through a corporate guaranty.
“We did not lose $1 of cash flow, despite substantial cash flow deterioration incurred at the property level,” he said.
From 2018 to 2022, the SNF portfolio’s performance fell short of expectations due to the COVID-19 pandemic and operational inefficiencies tied to ProMedica’s centralized national management model.
“At the time, many folks had encouraged us to simply rip the Band-Aid off and dispose of this portfolio, given the headache it was creating for us in the public market,” Mitra said. “Instead, we rolled up our sleeves to determine the best path forward for the portfolio and for our owners, with a firm belief that volatility is not risk.”
By December 2022, Welltower had transitioned the portfolio to Integra, and within a period of two and half years, the portfolio EBITDAR improved by over $500 million, Mitra noted, and is approaching stabilized levels.
Mitra attributed this success to Integra implementing a decentralized strategy.
“Ultimately, we embarked on an arduous process of recapitalizing this portfolio with Integra, which then brought its network of regional and local short operators to turn the portfolio out,” Mitra said.
Integra engaged more than 20 local and regional operators with strong market track records, the business update noted. Some operational improvements also included replacing costly contract labor with full-time staff, renegotiating vendor contracts, strengthening hospital relationships, and improving lead response times, the update shared.
The latest move to dispose of Integra communities is consistent with Welltower’s plan for monetization three to five years after stabilization of the portfolio, Mitra said.
Credit strategy and the SNF portfolio
Welltower has been gradually selling off and monetizing its skilled nursing assets for several years because of the nursing home sector’s greater dependency on government reimbursement and slower growth. Instead, the company has been reinvesting that money into private-pay seniors housing communities, especially operating (RIDEA) structures that offer higher potential growth, executives said.
Earlier in 2025, most of Welltower’s planned sales focused on its large $7.2 billion outpatient medical portfolio and loan repayments. But in the fourth quarter, management expanded its sales efforts to include skilled nursing assets within Integra, signaling a continued move away from that segment.
The growth outlook highlights this shift. For 2026, same-store NOI growth for long-term or post-acute care, which includes skilled nursing, is expected to be just 2% to 3%. That’s far below the 15% to 21% growth projected for seniors housing operating assets. The big gap in expected growth makes it clear that skilled nursing is no longer a main focus for the company, executives said.
Company executives also said that they were able to sell the SNF assets faster than previously expected, and they are using the proceeds to invest in higher-growth seniors housing in the U.S. and U.K., such as the recently acquired Barchester portfolio.
Co-President and Chief Investment Officer Nikhil Chaudhri said Welltower views its skilled nursing portfolio as a structured credit strategy focused on turnaround, stabilization, and monetization rather than long-term ownership.
“Our skilled nursing strategy is to acquire assets that have an operational turnaround story behind them, bring in really sharp regional operators, and then turn the performance around harvest value,” he said.
Ultimately, strong operators should own these assets given attractive financing through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), he said.
Welltower plans to continue acquiring, stabilizing, and exiting investments, with capital redeployed opportunistically rather than based on fixed allocation targets.
“What we do with the proceeds and how we deploy it is purely opportunity dependent,” Chaudri said. “We don’t have allocations in our mind of how big or small each bucket needs to be. If we have good opportunities, we’ll invest capital. If we don’t, we don’t, and it’ll depend on what is the best use of capital, depending on the time period.”
The post ‘Rip the Band-Aid’: Welltower to Divest $1.3B of Integra-Related Nursing Home Assets, $800M Sold in 4Q appeared first on Skilled Nursing News.
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