Global Finance: Deal Maker Pulls Off a Pair --- REIT Chief Agrees to Sell ARC Healthcare Trust to Ventas, Acquire Hotel Chain
Nicholas Schorsch, a prolific deal maker in commercial real estate, announced a pair of multibillion-dollar transactions Monday, expanding his hotel empire and selling a large company that specializes in health-care properties.</br></br>Mr. Schorsch said he would sell his American Realty Capital Healthcare Trust Inc. to Ventas Inc., a giant health-care real-estate investment trust, in a $2.6 billion cash-and-stock deal.</br></br>Also Monday, Mr. Schorsch's American Realty Capital Hospitality Trust said it would acquire the Equity Inns, which owns 126 hotels in 35 U.S. states, from a real-estate fund sponsored by Goldman Sachs Group Inc., for $1.92 billion.</br></br>Separately, Mr. Schorsch's flagship company, the publicly traded REIT American Realty Capital Propeties Inc. disclosed Monday in a securities filing that shareholders had voted against the company's executive-compensation plan. The vote against the plan was nonbinding. The plan would make Mr. Schorsch one of the most highly paid REIT executives, if the company hits certain performance objectives.</br></br>Under the terms of the health-care deal, shareholders of New York-based ARC Healthcare will have the option to receive 0.1688 Ventas shares for each of their shares in ARC. The deal values the ARC shares at $11.33 each, a 14% premium to their $9.95 close on Friday.