Ventas, Inc. (NYSE: VTR) has had a busy 2016, from entering the life science real estate business to recently announcing plans to sell its skilled nursing portfolio to Kindred Healthcare (NYSE: KND) for $700 million. But the Chicago-based real estate investment trust (REIT) has no signs of slowing down.
Chances are, Ventas will be acquisition-heavy in the coming year, chairman and CEO Debra Cafaro said in an interview with REIT.com.
“Of course, Ventas is an acquisition machine, and I would expect to see some acquisition opportunities in 2017,” Cafaro said. “[I] don’t know what they are yet, but we’ll be ready to take advantage when we see opportunities.”
Cafaro, meanwhile, doesn’t consider President-elect Donald Trump a threat to Ventas’ success.
“First and foremost, our business is driven by demographics,” Cafaro explained, adding that there’s “tremendous demand” for senior living, life sciences and health care.
“No election’s going to change that,” Cafaro said. “That demand is going to continue.”
Over half of Ventas’ business is in private pay senior living—a business that’s expected to “explode,” Cafaro said. In her opinion, private pay senior living will be unaffected by whoever’s in the White House.
There may be changes to or a repeal of the Affordable Care Act, Cafaro noted, but she anticipates that insured Americans will continue to be insured.
“That is something that may be done through different structures, but we still feel very positive about building a formidable business in the health space,” she said.
Overall, Cafaro expressed confidence in her business for 2017.
“We’ve got a great, diversified business, and I expect the demand for what we offer to continue,” Cafaro said.
View the full interview at REIT.com.
Written by Mary Kate Nelson
Companies featured in this article:
