Ventas, Inc. (NYSE: VTR) announced Thursday that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire 100 percent of Lillibridge Healthcare Services, Inc. and real estate interests in 95 medical office buildings and ambulatory facilities (“MOBs”). Lillibridge, a Chicago-based, fully-integrated healthcare real estate company, owns, develops and manages MOBs, and offers , financial and operational real estate advisory services. The purchase price for Lillbridge is estimated between $300 million and $400 million and will grow Ventas’s MOB portfolio to 8.4 million square feet. Ventas will operate the MOB business under the Lillibridge name with its existing Chicago-based leadership, including Chief Executive Officer Todd Lillibridge, the company’s founder. Lillibridge will be named Ventas’s Executive Vice President, Medical Properties, reporting to the CEO. Ventas expects the acquisition to be completed in the third quarter of 2010.
“This strategic acquisition of Lillibridge represents an important breakthrough for Ventas in our goal to be a national leader in the growing area of MOBs and ambulatory facilities – a market estimated at $173 billion and expected to grow over 30 percent in the coming years,” Ventas Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Debra A. Cafaro said. “The powerful combination of our strong balance sheet and access to capital, with Lillibridge’s leading operating platform that provides a full complement of development, construction, management and advisory services to highly rated healthcare systems, offers a compelling solution for hospitals as they expand, consolidate and evolve to meet increasing demand for medical care.”
Details of the transaction include:
- Ventas will acquire a 100 percent interest in 37 MOBs comprising 1.9 million square feet of space; and
- a 20 percent joint venture interest in 24 MOBs comprising 1.5 million square feet and a 5 percent joint venture interest in 34 MOBs comprising 2.3 million square feet. Ventas will be the managing member of these joint ventures and the property manager for the properties. An institutional third party holds the remaining property interests, and Ventas will have a right of first offer on those interests.
“With Ventas’s strong balance sheet and access to capital, we will be able to meet all the real estate needs of our clients – leading not-for-profit, highly rated healthcare and hospital systems – and also expand our franchise,” Lillibridge said. “We believe Ventas is the right fit for our clients, employees and our business as we move into our third decade of healthcare real estate. We are excited about growing our business by delivering comprehensive capital and real estate solutions to our hospital partners.”
For more information on the transaction, visit: www.ventasreit.com/lillibridge.
