$1B senior housing deal inked

Health Care REIT to take 75% stake in Canadian facilities

5/9/2013

Health Care REIT Inc. said Wednesday that it has agreed to buy a 75 percent stake in a group of Canadian senior housing communities in a deal worth more than $1 billion.

The 47 properties, which include approximately 5,000 individual units, are wholly owned by Revera Inc., the second-largest operator of senior housing and long-term care facilities in Canada.

Toledo-based Health Care REIT will spend about $697 million in cash and assume $313 million in debt to complete the acquisition.

The deal has been approved by both companies’ boards and is expected to close by the end of June.

Revera will continue to manage the communities, which are in some of Canada’s largest metropolitan areas, including Toronto, Vancouver, and Calgary.

George Chapman, Health Care REIT chief executive officer, said in a statement the deal helps solidify the company’s position in Canada.

“We are excited to partner with Revera, a premier seniors housing provider, whose portfolio complements our existing Canadian seniors housing portfolio.

“In partnership with the two leading operators in Canada, we now own more than 13,000 units of private-pay senior housing in Canada, with a concentration in infill locations in major metropolitan markets,” he said.

Health Care REIT said most of the properties are independent-living communities, with many offering assisted-living care.

The company, which specializes in senior housing and health-care real estate, owns 1,133 properties in 46 states, the United Kingdom, and Canada.

The deal to acquire a stake in Revera is Health Care REIT’s first major investment announcement this year, though in January the company said it had completed a $3.4 billion deal first announced in August to acquire nearly all the property assets of Sunrise Senior Living Inc., a senior living firm with 125 properties in key large metro areas of the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

Also on Wednesday, Health Care REIT announced plans to offer 18 million shares of common stock. Money generated from the stock sale will be used to repay advances under the company’s unsecured lines of credit, to repay other outstanding debt, and for general corporate purposes, the company said in a statement.

The company’s shares dropped $1.47 — about 2 percent — to $74.15 a share Wednesday in trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Contact Tyrel Linkhorn at: tlinkhorn@theblade.com or 419-724-6134.