Ventas Announces Ardent Buyout and REIT Spinoff
Ventas had its largest gain in three years after buying Ardent Medical Services and announcing plans to spin off its nursing and rehab properties into an independent REIT. Shares jumped 5% to $76.90 after the $1.7B cash purchase of Ardent, a US hospital company. Ventas plans to own 10 hospitals, separate their operations into entities owned by equity sources, and have up to a 9.9% stake in those entities, Bloomberg Business reports. Ventas CEO Debra Cafaro (pictured) says this is the deal they've been waiting for to get into the $1T and growing US hospital market. Ardent facilities include 3.2M SF and 2,045 beds. Ventas also plans to spin off most of its new post-acute and skilled-nursing facilities into an independent, publicly traded REIT. The new company will own 355 healthcare properties in 37 states, and is expected to generate between $240M and $245M in funds in its first full year of business. [Bloomberg]
