Activists at Retirees’ Gate Mean Gains for Brookdale: Real M&A

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Shareholders of America’s largest retirement-home operator may reap a 25 percent gain should the company heed an activist investor’s calls for a breakup.

Brookdale Senior Living Inc. surged the most in almost two years to about $37 on Feb. 6 after Sandell Asset Management Corp. urged the $6.7 billion company to spin off its owned properties into a real estate investment trust. Even after the pop, the senior-housing operator is trading below the value of its assets, estimated by analysts at about $46 a share, on average. Sandell puts the valuation even higher, at $49 a share.