MURFREESBORO, TN-National Health Investors Inc. said Tuesday afternoon it had agreed to acquire 25 independent living facilities from certain subsidiaries of an affiliate of Holiday Retirement for $491 million. The announcement comes a day after Newcastle Investment Corp. said that it had entered into an agreement to acquire a 52-property portfolio of senior housing properties for $1.01 billion from Holiday.

“This investment is in line with our stated goals of partnering with strong operators, diversifying our portfolio and financing growth in a conservative fashion,” says Justin Hutchens, CEO and president of the Murfreesboro, TN-based healthcare REIT. He notes that Holiday, a portfolio company of Fortress Investment Group, is “an industry-leading operator of independent living communities.”

The agreement brings NHI's acquisition volume to $750 million this year. NHI also said Tuesday that it would issue 4.5 million shares of common stock to help fund the Holiday acquisition.

After the deal with NHI closes, Holiday will continue to operate the 25 properties under a 17-year master lease signed by an affiliate of Holiday. The lease equates to an initial cash yield of 6.5% on the purchase price with annual escalators of 4.5% in years two through four and annual escalators thereafter at 3.5%, or at a maximum of 3.75% if the CPI is higher during the preceding year.

The 25 facilities total 2,841 units, with a median age of 16 years and an average occupancy rate of 89% for the nine months that ended Sept. 30. They include two facilities in Arkansas; seven in California; three in Georgia; one each in Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma and Oregon; two in South Carolina; and four in Washington State.