Topic: How To Invest

Hi, Pat: Could you give me your thoughts on Extendicare? Thanks.

Article Excerpt

Extendicare Inc., $6.75, symbol EXE on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 88.2 million; Market cap: $598.0 million; www.extendicare.com), is one of North America’s largest retirement- and nursing-home operators. Its 259 long- and short-term senior-care facilities can house 28,401 residents. The stock fell sharply in November 2014, from over $8, when Extendicare announced an agreement to sell most of its U.S. business for $870 million U.S. in a deal with two investment firms, Formation Capital and an affiliate of Safanad Inc. These operations generated $868.9 million U.S. of revenue in the first nine months of 2014—more than half of Extendicare’s $1.6-billion U.S. total in that period. The company will keep 10 nursing homes in the U.S. for now, but it intends to sell them. It will also hold on to two other U.S. businesses: Virtual Care Provider, which supplies computer support and consulting to long-term care providers, and Laurier Indemnity, which insures against liability risks. Provinces regulate nursing home fees in Canada, and provincial programs provide substantial…