WASHINGTON, DC—Sabra Health Care REIT in Irvine, CA, is expanding its footprint here with the acquisition of a four-asset portfolio for $234 million. Specifically it is acquiring four transitional care facilities in Maryland.

These properties specialize in transitional care and post-surgical, ventilator and dialysis patients. They total 678 licensed beds.

Sabra and the current operator will enter into a triple-net master lease agreement on three of the facilities, which will total about $175.2 million. They will enter into a triple-net lease agreement on the fourth facility which is encumbered by a $10.8 million HUD loan with an interest rate of 5.6%.

The properties will have an initial term of 15 years with two 10-year renewal options. All together the leases will generate annual revenues of $24.5 million and an initial yield on cash rent of 8.75%.

This transaction will bring Sabra's total investments year to date to $406.5 million, with a blended cash yield of 7.89%.

Earlier this month Sabra agreed to purchase a nine-property senior housing portfolio in Canada for $137.1 million -- an investment that reduced the REIT's skilled nursing exposure considerably, according to CEO Rick Matros. Sabra began to look seriously at skilled nursing acquisitions to keep up the diversification ratios, he says in a prepared statement.

"We had first looked at this portfolio a few years ago and were very impressed with the team. Their focus was and is on short stay post-surgical patients and longer term complex medical patients requiring ventilator care and other complex conditions."

There is a small percentage of operators in the skilled nursing sector that have strategically moved their model in this direction, which Sabra sees as the future, he says.