Omega Healthcare Investors Keeps Eye On Ridea With ‘strong’ Senior Housing Deal Pipeline

Omega Healthcare Investors (NYSE: OHI) is continuing to increase its investments in senior living, including in its growing senior housing operating portfolio.

The Hunt Valley, Maryland-based real estate investment trust (REIT) in 2025 completed its first REIT Investment Diversification and Empowerment Act (RIDEA) structure purchase. Of the $1.1 billion in investments it made throughout the year about two-thirds went toward senior housing or U.K.-based care homes.

In the fourth quarter of 2025, Omega acquired five properties – four senior housing communities in the U.S. brought under a RIDEA structure and one care home in the U.K. – for $52 million. The acquisitions will be managed by two third party operators, Gupta said. Additionally, the REIT closed on $64 million to develop five replacement long term care facilities in Ontario, Canada.

Omega is bringing that strategy and momentum into 2026 by acquiring underperforming properties below replacement cost and then turning them around with operators. Looking ahead, the company’s leaders see even more opportunities to buy this year with a “strong” pipeline full of off-market opportunities in Canada and the U.S.

Omega’s net income for the quarter totaled $172 million, up from $116 million compared to the previous year. Adjusted Funds from Operations (Adjusted FFO) totaled $250 million on 313 million weighted-average common shares outstanding, compared to $214 million on 287 million shares in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Omega Healthcare Investors owns 936 properties, 359 of which are senior housing communities.

According to President Matthew Gourmand, Omega’s shift to RIDEA is meant to help create “a higher risk, potentially higher-return model.” The company has studied everything from operational budgets to the causes of occupancy declines “to truly understand what the risks are around this,” he said Thursday during the company’s fourth-quarter 2025 earnings call with investors and analysts.

“It makes sense for us to dip our toe into this judiciously. I wouldn’t look for us to be doing a billion dollar deal anytime soon,” Gourmand said. “The ability to deploy capital over the course of a decade for it to become not only a meaningful part of our business, but a highly accretive and valuable part of our business. I think we look at over the next decade, right here, being a similar opportunity.”

Gourmand noted each of the sector types are trading for a premium in the instances OHI has completed trades, but the REIT would rather selectively choose the facilities it is looking to buy rather than getting involved in larger deals.

Maplewood Senior Living, one of OHI’s operators, paid $18.9 million in rent in the fourth quarter, an increase of $200,000 in the third quarter, and the amount is expected to increase through single digit rate increases. Omega reported that Maplewood’s portfolio carries a 96% occupancy rate.

The REIT’s stock price is $45.56, up 6.1% from the previous close.

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