Ventas Hikes Bid for Sunrise REIT

Ventas, a Louisville, Ky.-based health care real estate investment trust, has agreed to pay $16.50 (Canadian) per unit for the acquisition of Toronto-based Sunrise Senior Living REIT, the companies have reported.The previously agreed-on price was $15.00 (Canadian) per Sunrise unit. This brings the total acquisition price, including the assumption of debt, up to $2.28 billion (Canadian), according to the companies. The revised price represents a premium of 57% for Sunrise units, compared to their price on the Toronto Stock Exchange prior to the merger announcement, according to Sunrise. Ventas stressed that this is its "best and final" price for Sunrise and that if the transaction does not go through at this price, the company will look for other acquisitions. There was also a counteroffer for Sunrise from Health Care Property Investors, Long Beach, Calif., which was withdrawn. Ventas can be found online at http://www.ventasreit.com, and Sunrise can be found at http://www.sunriseseniorliving.com.