HUNT VALLEY, MD—Omega Healthcare Investors Inc. and Aviv REIT Inc. said Wednesday afternoon they had completed their stock-for-stock merger, creating what OHI says is now the premier publicly traded REIT focusing mainly on skilled nursing facilities. The combined company has an equity market capitalization of approximately $7.8 billion and a total market cap of approximately $11.1 billion.

We believe that the combination with Aviv and the expertise and proven track records of the combined management team firmly positions Omega to continue as the leading consolidator in the large, highly fragmented SNF industry,” says OHI CEO Taylor Pickett. He's continuing as CEO of the combined company, while Craig M. Bernfield, former Aviv chairman and CEO, was appointed to Omega's board, as were Aviv directors Norman R. Bobins and Ben W. Perks. In addition, Steven J. Insoft, formerly Aviv's president and COO, has been named OHI's chief corporate development officer.

GlobeSt.com reported this past October that the deal valued Aviv at $3 billion. Post-merger, OHI has a portfolio of investments that includes more than 900 properties located in 41 states and operated by 81 different operators.

When the merger was announced last fall, Pickett said that one of the drivers behind the deal was its increased purchasing power, an important value creator for shareholders. He said the combined company would have “unrivaled resources to pursue attractive acquisition and development opportunities within its base of existing operator relationships and will also have the human and capital resources to pursue new operator relationships for continued external growth.”

On Wednesday, OHI also closed on an amendment to its revolving credit and term loan facility, increasing the size of the revolving credit facility to $1.25 billion, and adding a new $200-million term loan facility. On April 1, 2015, OHI Healthcare Properties Limited Partnership also closed on a new $100-million term loan facility. Simultaneous with the merger closing, all of Aviv's outstanding unsecured debt was repaid or otherwise satisfied and discharged.