Brookdale Senior Living - Financial Trouble

Financial Trouble

By early 2005, the company had grown to approximately 90 stand alone properties. During this time Fortress Investments had acquired the recently bankrupt Alterra Corporation (formerly Alternative Living Services), a Milwaukee, WI based company who had developed and opened more than 500 assisted living and memory care properties throughout the USA between 1993 and 2003. At one point, Alterra was the largest provider of assisted living and memory care services within the United States, catapulting ahead of the industry benchmark for set by Sunrise Senior Living. Rapid growth proved costly and detrimental to the Alterra Corporation and it filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2004. They managed to sell off a third of their assets and bring their facility total down to approximately 300 properties. During the bankruptcy, Fortress purchased Alterra and pondered whether to sell the company to Emeritus Senior Living, which was hired to manage Alterra through the bankruptcy phase.