IRVINE, Calif., Sept. 20, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sabra Health Care REIT, Inc. ("Sabra," the "Company" or "we") (Nasdaq:SBRA) announced the acquisition on September 20, 2012 of a 48-unit memory care facility located in Aurora, Colorado for $16.0 million from an affiliate of New Dawn Holding Company ("New Dawn"). Concurrently with the purchase, we entered into a triple-net lease agreement with affiliates of New Dawn. The lease has an initial term of 10 years with two five-year renewal options and provides for a fixed annual rent escalator of 3.0%, resulting in annual lease revenues determined in accordance with GAAP of $1.5 million and an initial yield on cash rent of 8.0%. The purchase price was funded with available cash. In addition, Sabra was granted a right of first refusal to acquire a memory care facility owned by an affiliate of New Dawn being built in Sun City West, Arizona.

Commenting on this acquisition, Rick Matros, Sabra CEO and Chairman, said, "We are very pleased to expand our position in the senior housing memory care space. We expect to announce a pipeline agreement with New Dawn in addition to the acquisition of this asset with New Dawn. The New Dawn management team is highly skilled and dedicated to the mission of providing quality memory care services. They serve a high acuity population utilizing cutting edge technology in a non-institutional physical environment."

David Daumit, New Dawn CEO and Chairman, added, "The choice to move forward with Sabra over other REITs in this transaction was easy. The Sabra management team shares our philosophy about providing the highest quality of care possible. They understand our vision and clearly demonstrated their desire to be our partner in the growth of New Dawn Memory Care. We are excited about the transaction and our growth, with Sabra, for the future."

ABOUT SABRA

Sabra Health Care REIT, Inc. (Nasdaq:SBRA), a Maryland corporation, is a self-administered, self-managed real estate investment trust (a "REIT") that, through its subsidiaries, owns and invests in real estate serving the healthcare industry. Sabra leases properties to tenants and operators throughout the United States. As of September 20, 2012, and after giving effect to the New Dawn acquisition, Sabra's investment portfolio included 104 properties (consisting of (i) 93 skilled nursing/post-acute facilities, (ii) ten senior housing facilities, and (iii) one acute care hospital), one mezzanine loan investment and one mortgage loan investment. As of September 20, 2012, Sabra's properties were located in 25 states and included 11,440 licensed beds.

The Sabra Health Care REIT, Inc. logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=8563

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS SAFE HARBOR

This release contains "forward-looking" statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may be identified, without limitation, by the use of "expects," "believes," "intends," "should" or comparable terms or the negative thereof. Forward-looking statements in this release include all statements regarding our expectations concerning our acquisition of the New Dawn facility and the future performance of this facility.

Our actual results may differ materially from those projected or contemplated by our forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including, among others, the following: our dependence on Sun Healthcare Group, Inc. ("Sun") until we are able to further diversify our portfolio; our dependence on the operating success of our tenants; changes in general economic conditions and volatility in financial and credit markets; the dependence of our tenants on reimbursement from governmental and other third-party payors; the significant amount of and our ability to service our indebtedness; covenants in our debt agreements that may restrict our ability to make acquisitions, incur additional indebtedness and refinance indebtedness on favorable terms; increases in market interest rates; our ability to raise capital through equity financings; the relatively illiquid nature of real estate investments; competitive conditions in our industry; the loss of key management personnel or other employees; the impact of litigation and rising insurance costs on the business of our tenants; uninsured or underinsured losses affecting our properties and the possibility of environmental compliance costs and liabilities; our ability to maintain our status as a REIT; compliance with REIT requirements and certain tax matters related to our status as a REIT; and other factors discussed from time to time in our news releases, public statements and/or filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), especially the "Risk Factors" sections of our Annual and Quarterly Reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q. We assume no, and hereby disclaim any, obligation to update any of the foregoing or any other forward-looking statements as a result of new information or new or future developments, except as otherwise required by law.

CONTACT: Investor & Media Inquiries: (949) 679-0410