Welltower (NYSE: WELL) on Monday announced it has invested a whopping $14 billion to acquire more than 700 senior housing communities, comprising more than 46,000 units in the U.K., U.S., and Canada.

The Toledo, Ohio-based real estate investment trust (REIT) is funding its new transaction via asset sales, loan payoffs “and other capital recycling activity” to the tune of $9 billion, Welltower management said in an announcement.

Welltower’s $14 billion acquisition total includes a new deal with Barchester Healthcare to acquire 284 communities in the U.K. for a sum totaling more than $6.9 billion in today’s exchange rates. Welltower had previously sought to acquire the company and its care homes years ago, but ultimately withdrew its bid in 2020.

The portfolio that Welltower is set to acquire is composed of 111 communities managed by Barchester under a RIDEA contract, 152 communities leased under triple-net agreements and 21 developments slated to be managed in a RIDEA contract once they open.

The Barchester portfolio includes both stabilized and properties still in lease-up and “is positioned for significant future growth” with an average occupancy rate in the high-70 percentiles.

With the transaction, Welltower has formed a long-term partnership with Barchester, which is keeping its management team in place and is “well-positioned to continue providing the highest quality care to aging seniors.”

“Through our strategic partnership with Welltower and their significant and ongoing investment into their operating platform, we expect to continue to meaningfully enhance the lives of thousands of older adults by delivering not only exceptional care but also fostering environments rich in social and cognitive engagement,” said Barchester CEO Dr. Pete Calveley, in a statement. “This partnership underscores our unwavering commitment to elevating the quality of care for aging seniors.”

The REIT also is under contract or has closed an additional $4 billion of senior housing acquisitions representing nearly 40 transactions and more than 150 communities. The deal includes “trophy senior housing communities” in the U.S. East Coast region, including in Boston and Westchester County, New York.

According to a new business update from Welltower, the REIT worked to “rebuild” its portfolio of communities in the region using a “rifle-shot approach to capital deployment, utilizing its data science platform, identifying trophy assets along the Route 128 corridor and in triple-A locations including Brookline, Massachusetts.”

Welltower also moved from lender to owner of its portfolio with U.K.-based HC-One. The company funded its purchase through an agreement totaling more than $1.6 billion in today’s exchange rates.

“The HC-One loan was originally structured with embedded warrants and an equity stake and was intentionally designed to provide Welltower with both downside protection and meaningful upside participation. These structural features enabled us to play a lead role in the borrower’s recapitalization process, ultimately transforming a finite-maturity loan into a long-term ownership position aligned with Welltower’s growth strategy,” Welltower CEO Shankh Mitra said.

Welltower is partly funding its acquisition using cash on hand and proceeds from the sale of an outpatient medical portfolio valued at $7.2 billion and slated to change hands in tranches through 2026.

With the announced transactions, more than three-quarters of Welltower’s NOI will stem from senior living. The announcement is a “watershed moment” in the REIT’s journey toward becoming what Mitra called “Welltower 3.0.”

“All capital allocation decisions made at Welltower are viewed through an opportunity cost prism: evaluating the value forgone by pursuing a specific course of action while also forcing us to consider all implications of those decisions, well into the future,” Mitra said in a statement. “We believe that re-doubling our efforts in the seniors housing business represents the surest and fastest path to achieving our mission of elevating both the resident and site-level employee experience, while also enhancing our opportunity to deliver long-term compounding of per share growth for our existing investors.”