A leading international investment firm, Arcapita headquartered in Bahrain, announced it has sold its interest in two assisted living real estate portfolios in the United States to Sunrise REIT, a Canadian listed trust, for a transaction value of approximately USD525 million.

The two portfolios, consisting of assisted living properties located across the United States, were acquired by Arcapita and its co-investors, alongside Sunrise Senior Living, in 2002. Assisted living facilities are aimed at providing a residential environment for individuals who need assistance with activities of daily living such as eating and laundry, but who wish to live as independently as possible.

Since 2002, the company has invested in a total of five senior living portfolios in the US and the UK, which have generated excellent returns to our investors. With these latest two exits, we have exited from a total of seven US real estate portfolios during the last 18 months for a total transaction value of approximately $1.6 billion, demonstrating the continued strength of our real estate line of business.

Asim Zafar, global head of Arcapita's real estate investments, said: "The strong US real estate market has resulted in increased valuation in most real estate asset classes. We have taken advantage of the positive environment to exit from our first two assisted living portfolios, thereby achieving attractive returns for Arcapita and our investors." He added: "One of our real estate investment strategies is to build long-term strategic partnerships with leading real estate developers and operators. Our successful relationship with Sunrise Senior Living during the last four years demonstrates the benefits of this strategy for Arcapita and our investors."

Edwina Baniqued