Moody's rates Ardent loan B1

Moody's Investors Service said it assigned a B2 corporate family rating and a B2-PD probability of default rating to Ardent Legacy Acquisitions, Inc. and a B1 (LGD3) rating to the company's proposed $250 million senior secured term loan due 2021. The outlook is stable.

Term loan proceeds, along with an equity contribution from Equity Group Investments plus equity contributions from management and Ventas, will be used to fund the acquisition of Ardent Legacy from Ventas, Inc. On April 6, Ardent Medical Services, Inc. announced its agreement to be acquired by Ventas for about $1.8 billion. Concurrent with the closing of that transaction, the hospital operations will be separated from the owned real estate, resulting in the newly formed Ardent Legacy. Ventas will retain the ownership of the real estate assets and enter into a long-term master lease with Ardent Legacy.

The agency said Ardent's B2 corporate family rating reflects the company's position as an operator of 14 acute-care facilities in three major markets and its revenues of about $2 billion.

The rating also reflects the company’s considerable lease-adjusted financial leverage of around 6 times, the concentration of operations in only three markets and Moody's expectation that the company will likely pursue additional acquisitions to enhance scale and diversification, the agency said.

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