Moody's ups Ventas, affirms Nationwide Health

Moody's Investors Service said it upgraded Ventas Inc.'s senior debt ratings to Baa2 from Baa3 and affirmed Nationwide Health Properties, Inc.'s senior debt ratings at Baa2.

The outlook is stable.

These actions follow the closing of Ventas' acquisition of all of the outstanding shares of Nationwide Health Properties in a stock-for-stock transaction valued at $7.6 billion and concludes Moody's review of Ventas' ratings, the agency said.

The acquisition of Nationwide Health Properties provides Ventas with a deeper and broader health care real estate platform, expanding its triple-net lease, operating and medical office businesses, the agency added. The resulting size and scale of the combined enterprise should provide Ventas with cost of capital advantage as it continues to grow.

This transaction decreases the REIT's top operator concentration to 19% of NOI from 36% and increases unencumbered assets, the agency noted.

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