Health Care REITs Price Stock Offerings

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HCP Inc. and LTC Properties Inc. have priced secondary offerings of stock, which both of the real estate investment trusts plan to use to help them acquire nursing homes and other care facilities.

Long Beach-based HCP on Wednesday said that investor demand convinced it to increase the number of shares it was offering from 24 million to 30 million. It priced shares at $36.90, a 2 percent discount to the closing price before the sale was announced Tuesday. The larger offering should gross more than $1.1 billion, but the REIT did not give a net proceeds estimate.

Underwriters have the option to buy up to an additional 4.5 million shares to cover any overallotments, also up from the 3.6 million originally announced.

HCP, which has interests in 672 nursing homes, hospitals and life science/medical office buildings, plans to use most of the proceeds to pay cash for what would have been the stock portion of its $6.1 billion acquisition of the real estate assets of HCR ManorCare, which operates nursing homes and rehabilitation hospitals.

Meanwhile, Westlake Village-based LTC did not change the size of its 3.5 million-share offering from what was first announced on Monday. Late Tuesday it priced the offering at $27.25, 45 cents below its closing price that day. The REIT is offering underwriters a 525,000-share overallotment option, and expects the sale to net more than $104 million if the option is exercised in full.

LTC, whose holdings include 61 skilled nursing homes and 84 assisted living facilities, plans to use proceeds for acquisitions, to pay down debt and redeem preferred stock.

Both REITs expect their offerings to close on March 28.

On the NYSE, HCP shares closed down 23 cents, or 1 percent, to $36.85 and LTC closed down 25 cents, or less than a percent, to $27.45.