Genesis to be acquired for $1.7 billion

Long-term-care provider Genesis HealthCare Corp., Kennett Square, Pa., said it entered a definitive agreement to be acquired for a total of about $1.7 billion, including the assumption of debt, by a joint venture between Formation Capital, Alpharetta, Ga., and JER Partners, McLean, Va. The move will convert Genesis to a private company. The deal is subject to shareholder and regulatory approval. A spokesman for JER Partners said an expected closing date has not been determined. The joint venture will pay $63 per share for Genesis’ outstanding stock -- a premium of about 31.1% over its average closing price in recent weeks -- and assume about $450 million of the company’s debt. Genesis will operate as an independent company and retain its name. “This transaction is a change in ownership -- not a change in direction,” said George Hager Jr., Genesis’ chairman and chief executive officer, in a news release. Genesis has 200 skilled-nursing centers and assisted-living residences in 13 eastern states. The company also supplies contract rehabilitation therapy. -- by Jessica Zigmond