CHICAGO — Ventas Inc. (NYSE: VTR) has closed Ventas Life Science and Healthcare Real Estate Fund, a vehicle for investing in core and core-plus life science, medical office and seniors housing real estate in North America.
At inception, the fund has more than $700 million in assets under management and third-party equity commitments of approximately $650 million from global institutional investors.
“This successful launch is a testament to the tremendous market opportunity within life science, medical office and seniors housing real estate,” says Debra Cafaro, chairman and CEO of Ventas. “We appreciate the support of both our longstanding and new investment partners.”
To seed the fund, Ventas contributed five stabilized life science and medical office assets comprising 1.2 million square feet of space. Ventas also secured a $300 million line of credit to facilitate new investments.
Ventas intends to grow the fund’s assets under management principally from the acquisition of new life science, medical office and seniors housing assets. Inclusive of the line of credit, the fund currently has an additional $600 million of acquisition capacity, which Ventas expects to increase over time.
Ventas, as the fund sponsor and general partner, expects to hold a 20 percent ownership stake in the fund.
Ventas, a Chicago-based REIT, is the second largest owner of seniors housing in the United States, with 671 properties totaling 58,903 units, according to the American Seniors Housing Association.