Ensign Group Expands Post-Acute Care Footprint with Acquisition of Four Skilled Nursing Facilities in North Texas

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) learned from foreign media reports that on December 3, 2019, U.S. care services provider Ensign Group (Ensign; NASDAQ ticker: ENSG) announced the acquisition of four established care facilities in Dallas, North Texas. Additionally, Ensign Group acquired another skilled nursing facility (SNF) in Mesa, Arizona.

The nursing facilities acquired in this transaction are: Crestwood Health and Rehabilitation Center, with 112 skilled nursing beds and 72 assisted living beds; Beacon Harbor Healthcare and Rehabilitation, with 190 beds; Rowlett Health and Rehabilitation Center, with 150 beds; and Pleasant Manor Healthcare and Rehabilitation, with 126 beds.

In the announcement regarding the acquisition, Barry Port, CEO of Ensign Group, stated that these operations would expand the company’s strongest markets for the California-headquartered Ensign Group. “Combined with Ensign Group’s existing operations in the Dallas area, these new additions will expand our local cluster of businesses and enhance our ability to deliver high-quality care to the patients and families we serve,” said Mr. Port.

Meanwhile, Ensign Group’s acquisition of Mission Palms Post Acute, a 160-bed skilled nursing facility (SNF) in Arizona, also took effect on December 1. Prior to this, Barry Port noted at a press conference that Ensign Group had long sought to establish operations in Mesa, and this acquisition fulfilled that longstanding aspiration.

Forrest Peterson, President of Bandera Healthcare, an Arizona-based subsidiary of Ensign Group, stated, “We are deeply impressed by the caregiving team at Mission Palms, and we look forward to providing additional resources to support them in meeting the needs of the local community they strive to serve.”

This acquisition continues Ensign Group’s strategy of serial acquisitions of skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), expanding its total asset portfolio to 213 care departments across 13 states.

Last month, Ensign Group acquired six skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) through two separate transactions in Texas: three in San Antonio, and one each in Harlingen, Keller, and New Braunfels. During its most recent earnings conference call, company executives reaffirmed their confidence in the firm’s sustained growth potential, citing multiple examples of projects that have successfully turned profitable.

Last October, Ensign Group spun off its home health, hospice, and senior living services business matrix into an independent company named The Pennant Group (NASDAQ: PNTG).

Barry Port stated during the third-quarter earnings conference call, “We believe that by the end of 2020, we will have fully recouped Pennant’s 2019 earnings; we have not yet realized our full potential.”

Ensign Group, established in 1999 and headquartered in California, USA, is a provider of nursing care services. Since its inception, Ensign Group’s independently operated subsidiaries have delivered a comprehensive range of skilled nursing and assisted living services, home health and hospice care, as well as other rehabilitation and wellness services across 254 healthcare facilities and 26 hospice organizations.

(Compiled by Wang Fang)