National HealthCare Corporation is bringing a big chunk of its real estate back under its own roof. The Murfreesboro-based operator closed on the purchase of 35 properties from National Health Investors on July 1, 2026, paying $560 million for 32 skilled nursing facilities and three independent living communities spread across Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.
NHC will continue to operate all of the centers except four Florida skilled nursing facilities, which will stay under lease to a third-party operator. Company leaders are pitching the deal as a long-term pivot from leasing to outright ownership that they say should give NHC more control over local operations and future returns.
In a press release distributed via Business Wire, NHC described the transaction as a conversion of properties it had managed for decades under a master lease originally signed in 1991. The release reiterates the $560 million price tag and confirms the seven states where the facilities are located.
Deal structure and lease changes
National Health Investors’ Form 8‑K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission confirms the sale closed on July 1, 2026, and notes that the Master Lease was terminated for all of the facilities except the four Florida skilled nursing homes. The remaining lease piece covering those Florida properties was assigned to an NHC subsidiary, according to NHI’s Form 8‑K…