REIT Medical Properties Takes $350M Write-Down, Loans $60M To Largest Tenant

Medical Properties Trust recorded $350M of write-downs associated with Steward Health Care System, its largest tenant, MPT reported in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission Thursday.

MPT stock dropped precipitously on Friday, down over 30% in the first hours of trading. The REIT's stock price is now down more than 71% compared with a year ago.

MPT, the largest U.S. hospital landlord, also announced further adjustments to its strategy to deal with the situation arising from Dallas-based Steward, including funding a new $60M loan to the healthcare operator and the deferral of some of the rent it owes in 2024.

The healthcare REIT has hired Alvarez & Marsal, a restructuring specialist, as a financial adviser. An MPT spokesman told The Wall Street Journal that Alvarez would be “strictly limited to supporting MPT’s efforts to recover uncollected rents and outstanding loans from Steward.”

MPT had a difficult year in 2023 due to not only Steward's inability to pay its rent but also hospital closures and an investigation by the U.S. Senate Committee on the Budget that involves other healthcare property owners.

The company is facing debt maturities and more limited access to capital than other REITs in the medical office space. MPT has nearly $1.4B of debt maturing in 2025, and even more, nearly $3B, in 2026.

Also, short seller Viceroy Research targeted MPT last year by issuing a number of reports and social media posts about the company. Medical Properties has taken Viceroy to court, alleging the company defamed the REIT.

MPT owns about 43,000 licensed beds leased to or mortgaged by 54 hospital operating companies in the United States and Europe.