Sonida Senior Living acquired rival senior housing operator CNL Healthcare Properties in a stock-and-cash transaction valued at about $1.8B.

The combination creates the eighth-largest owner of U.S. senior living assets, with roughly 14,700 units across a portfolio of 153 independent living, assisted living and memory care communities.

The merger is the largest senior housing transaction in the U.S. since 2021, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Sonida President and CEO Brandon Ribar said in a release that the acquisition more than doubles Sonida's number of owned units and deepens its exposure to attractive markets in the South, Southeast and Midwest while expanding its presence in the Mountain West and Pacific Northwest.

"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," Ribar said. "This transaction represents an inflection point in our pursuit of that objective."

The transaction is expected to close late in the first quarter or early in the second quarter, subject to customary closing conditions. Sonida's stock was up nearly 12% at the time of publication on Wednesday.

Senior housing demand is increasing to record levels, with the oldest baby boomers turning 80 in 2026. Year-over-year inventory growth for senior housing was just 1% in 2025, the lowest level since 2006 and pushing occupancy rates near historic highs, according to Urban Land Institute and PwC's 2026 Emerging Trends in Real Estate Report, which featured the asset class as one of the most attractive for investment next year.

More than half of the markets the report tracks have zero senior housing developments in the pipeline.

The National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care projects that the limited supply, coupled with demand growth, will push the average senior housing occupancy rate above 90% in 2026. That would be the highest occupancy rate in the 20 years it has tracked the data.