Aura enters assisted living with $550 million acquisition of Bait BaKfar
The real estate company will acquire one of Israel’s longest-established assisted-living operators in a deal combining cash, bank financing and Aura shares. The transaction would add 975 existing residential units and development land for another 884.
Real estate company Aura, controlled and managed by Yaacov Atrakchi, is entering the assisted-living sector through the acquisition of Bait BaKfar, one of Israel’s longest-established operators in the field.
Aura announced Monday that it had signed an agreement to acquire all of Bait BaKfar’s shares at a valuation of NIS 1.7 billion ($546.6 million). Bait BaKfar, which is listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, ended the previous trading day with a market capitalization of NIS 936.4 million ($301.1 million), down 4.2% over the past month and since the beginning of the year.
Under the agreement, Aura will acquire the approximately 55% stake held by the Blustein family through five private companies for NIS 935 million ($300.6 million) in cash. The remaining shares, held by public investors, will be acquired through a full tender offer. Public shareholders will receive approximately NIS 229 million ($73.6 million) in cash, with the remainder of the consideration paid in Aura shares. The acquisition price has been set at NIS 24.31 ($7.82) per Bait BaKfar share.
For the purposes of the share issuance, Aura has been assigned a valuation of NIS 5.5 billion ($1.77 billion), equivalent to NIS 19.37 ($6.23) per share. Shareholders who receive Aura shares as part of the tender offer are expected to hold 8.8% of the company following the issuance.
As part of the transaction, Yaniv Blustein, a member of the family that owns Bait BaKfar and the company’s chairman, will enter into a three-year consulting agreement. He will oversee the ownership transition and help maintain managerial and operational continuity. In return, he will receive NIS 150,000 ($48,232) a month, plus VAT and a company car.
Aura has also committed to paying Bait BaKfar’s managers and employees up to NIS 22 million ($7.1 million) within three months of the transaction’s completion. The amount includes payments to redeem employee stock options.
Aura will finance the acquisition through a combination of its own resources, the issuance of shares and bank financing. The company said it had reached an agreement in principle with a bank for a long-term loan that would cover most of the cash consideration.
The acquisition would add 975 existing assisted-living residential units to Aura’s portfolio, as well as land reserves for the development of a further 884 units across three projects.
Completion of the transaction is conditional on the success of the tender offer and receipt of all required approvals, including clearance from the Israel Competition Authority and consent from Bait BaKfar’s bondholders. The parties have set a 180-day period to fulfill these conditions, with the possibility of extensions. Once the deal is completed, Bait BaKfar will become a wholly owned private subsidiary of Aura.
