NHC completes acquisition of White Oak Senior Living’s 15-property portfolio

National HealthCare Corp. has completed its acquisition of Spartanburg, SC-based White Oak Senior Living’s 15-property portfolio of continuing care retirement communities and nursing homes in North Carolina and South Carolina, the Murfreesboro, TN-based company announced Tuesday.

NHC entered into a purchase and sale agreement for the $221.4 million transaction on May 31.

White Oak has been a family-owned company since 1964. Doug Cecil, the company’s president, previously said that “finding the buyer that had the right cultural fit with White Oak was critical.”

In North Carolina, the White Oak portfolio includes three continuing care retirement communities as well as three additional stand-alone skilled nursing facilities. In South Carolina, the portfolio consists of eight SNFs, plus another property that includes skilled nursing beds as well as assisted living and independent living units.

The deal also includes White Oak’s long-term care pharmacy. NHC also will lease the White Oak home office building in Spartanburg, SC.

“We are excited to make a strategic move into North Carolina and expand our offerings in South Carolina. We expect this acquisition to be accretive to NHC’s earnings and create several long-term operational efficiencies and synergies inside our operating networks,” NHC CEO Steve Flatt said in the Tuesday evening announcement. “Above all, the cultures at White Oak and NHC both value excellent care as the highest priority. That’s what made this opportunity so attractive.”

Prior to the White Oak acquisition, NHC operated 13 SNFs and five assisted living communities in South Carolina, as well as a long-term care pharmacy. The latest acquisition will add 1,928 skilled nursing beds, 48 assisted living units and 302 independent living units to NHC’s operations.

“White Oak has been a premier skilled nursing and senior living provider in North and South Carolina for many years. We are honored to acquire and operate the White Oak brand and continue to provide critical services to their patients and families,” Flatt said.