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UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

 

FORM 8-K

 

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

 

Date of Report (Date of Earliest Event Reported):  February 20, 2024

 

Ventas, Inc.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

 

 

Delaware   001-10989   61-1055020
(State or Other Jurisdiction
of Incorporation)
  (Commission
File Number)
  (I.R.S. Employer
Identification No.)

 

 

353 N. Clark Street, Suite 3300, Chicago, Illinois   60654
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)   (Zip Code)

 

Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code: (877) 483-6827

 

Not applicable

Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report

 

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the Registrant under any of the following provisions:

 

¨  Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

 

¨  Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

 

¨  Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

 

¨  Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section l 2(b) of the Act:

 

Title of each class   Trading Symbol(s)   Name of each exchange on which
registered
Common stock, $0.25 par value   VTR   New York Stock Exchange

 

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).

 

Emerging growth company ¨

 

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the Registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ¨

 

 

 

 

 

 

Item 1.01. Entry Into a Material Definitive Agreement.

 

The discussion below in Item 8.01 with respect to Amendment No. 1 (as defined below) of the Sales Agreement (as defined below) is incorporated herein by reference.

 

Item 8.01.Other Events.

 

On February 20, 2024, Ventas, Inc. (the “Company”) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) a Registration Statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-277185) (the “Replacement Registration Statement”), which became effective automatically upon filing. The Replacement Registration Statement replaces the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-253415), which expires on February 23, 2024. In connection with the filing of the Replacement Registration Statement, the Company was required to file a new prospectus supplement for its existing “at the market” equity offering program. This prospectus supplement, which reflects the amendment of the Sales Agreement described below, was filed on February 20, 2024.

 

Also on February 20, 2024, the Company entered into Amendment No. 1 (“Amendment No. 1”) to the ATM Sales Agreement, dated November 8, 2021 (as may be amended from time to time, the “Sales Agreement”), with BofA Securities, Inc., BNP Paribas Securities Corp., Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Credit Agricole Securities (USA) Inc., Jefferies LLC, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Mizuho Securities USA LLC, Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, MUFG Securities Americas Inc., RBC Capital Markets, LLC, Scotia Capital (USA) Inc., TD Securities (USA) LLC, UBS Securities LLC and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, each as sales agent and/or principal and/or forward seller (in any such capacity, each an “Agent” and collectively, the “Agents”), and Bank of America, N.A., BNP Paribas, Citibank, N.A., Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, Jefferies LLC, JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association, Mizuho Markets Americas LLC, Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, MUFG Securities EMEA plc, Royal Bank of Canada, The Bank of Nova Scotia, The Toronto-Dominion Bank, UBS AG London Branch and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, each as forward purchaser (in such capacity, each a “Forward Purchaser” and collectively, the “Forward Purchasers”). The purpose of Amendment No. 1 was to reference the Replacement Registration Statement in the Sales Agreement, to add additional agents and to remove certain agents originally party to the Sales Agreement, and to increase the aggregate gross sales price of common stock available for issuance under the Sales Agreement to $1,000,000,000. Under the Sales Agreement, an aggregate gross price of $110,400,000 of the Company’s common stock has been offered and sold through February 20, 2024. As a result of Amendment No. 1, the Company may offer and sell, from time to time to or through the Agents, shares of the Company’s common stock having an aggregate gross sales price of up to $1,000,000,000 under the Sales Agreement.

 

A copy of Amendment No. 1 is filed herewith as Exhibit 1.1 and is incorporated by reference herein and into the Replacement Registration Statement. An opinion of Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP with respect to the validity of shares of the Company’s common stock that may be offered and sold pursuant to this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus is filed herewith as Exhibit 5.1 and is incorporated by reference into the Replacement Registration Statement. This Current Report on Form 8-K shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state.

 

Forward-Looking Statements

 

This 8-K includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements include, among others, statements of expectations, beliefs, future plans and strategies, anticipated results from operations and developments and other matters that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements regarding our and our officers’ intent, belief or expectation as identified by the use of words such as “assume,” “may,” “will,” “project,” “expect,” “believe,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “seek,” “target,” “forecast,” “plan,” “potential,” “opportunity,” “estimate,” “could,” “would,” “should” and other comparable and derivative terms or the negatives thereof.

 

Forward-looking statements are based on management’s beliefs as well as on a number of assumptions concerning future events. You should not put undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are not a guarantee of performance and are subject to a number of uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. We do not undertake a duty to update these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are made. We urge you to carefully review the disclosures we make concerning risks and uncertainties that may affect our business and future financial performance, including those made below and in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, such as in the sections titled “Cautionary Statements — Summary Risk Factors,” “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023.

 

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Certain factors that could affect our future results and our ability to achieve our stated goals include, but are not limited to: (a) our ability to achieve the anticipated benefits and synergies from, and effectively integrate, our completed or anticipated acquisitions and investments of properties, including our ownership of the properties included in our equitized loan portfolio; (b) our exposure and the exposure of our tenants, managers and borrowers to complex healthcare and other regulation, including evolving laws and regulations regarding data privacy and cybersecurity and environmental matters, and the challenges and expense associated with complying with such regulation; (c) the potential for significant general and commercial claims, legal actions, regulatory proceedings or enforcement actions that could subject us or our tenants, managers or borrowers to increased operating costs, uninsured liabilities, fines or significant operational limitations, including the loss or suspension of or moratoriums on accreditations, licenses or certificates of need, suspension of or nonpayment for new admissions, denial of reimbursement, suspension, decertification or exclusion from federal, state or foreign healthcare programs or the closure of facilities or communities; (d) the impact of market and general economic conditions on us, our tenants, managers and borrowers and in areas in which our properties are geographically concentrated, including macroeconomic trends and financial market events, such as bank failures and other events affecting financial institutions, market volatility, increases in inflation, changes in or elevated interest and exchange rates, tightening of lending standards and reduced availability of credit or capital, geopolitical conditions, supply chain pressures, rising labor costs and historically low unemployment, events that affect consumer confidence, our occupancy rates and resident fee revenues, and the actual and perceived state of the real estate markets, labor markets and public and private capital markets; (e) our reliance and the reliance of our tenants, managers and borrowers on the financial, credit and capital markets and the risk that those markets may be disrupted or become constrained, including as a result of bank failures or concerns or rumors about such events, tightening of lending standards and reduced availability of credit or capital; (f) the secondary and tertiary effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business, financial condition and results of operations and the implementation and impact of regulations related to the CARES Act and other stimulus legislation, including the risk that some or all of the CARES Act or other COVID-19 relief payments we or our tenants, managers or borrowers received could be recouped; (g) our ability, and the ability of our tenants, managers and borrowers, to navigate the trends impacting our or their businesses and the industries in which we or they operate, and the financial condition or business prospect of our tenants, managers and borrowers; (h) the risk of bankruptcy, inability to obtain benefits from governmental programs, insolvency or financial deterioration of our tenants, managers, borrowers and other obligors which may, among other things, have an adverse impact on the ability of such parties to make payments or meet their other obligations to us, which could have an adverse impact on our results of operations and financial condition; (i) the risk that the borrowers under our loans or other investments default or that, to the extent we are able to foreclose or otherwise acquire the collateral securing our loans or other investments, we will be required to incur additional expense or indebtedness in connection therewith, that the assets will underperform expectations or that we may not be able to subsequently dispose of all or part of such assets on favorable terms; (j) our current and future amount of outstanding indebtedness, and our ability to access capital and to incur additional debt which is subject to our compliance with covenants in instruments governing our and our subsidiaries’ existing indebtedness; (k) the recognition of reserves, allowances, credit losses or impairment charges are inherently uncertain, may increase or decrease in the future and may not represent or reflect the ultimate value of, or loss that we ultimately realize with respect to, the relevant assets, which could have an adverse impact on our results of operations and financial condition; (l) the non-renewal of any leases or management agreement or defaults by tenants or managers thereunder and the risk of our inability to replace those tenants or managers on a timely basis or on favorable terms, if at all; (m) our ability to identify and consummate future investments in or dispositions of healthcare assets and effectively manage our portfolio opportunities and our investments in co-investment vehicles, joint ventures and minority interests, including our ability to dispose of such assets on favorable terms as a result of rights of first offer or rights of first refusal in favor of third parties; (n) risks related to development, redevelopment and construction projects, including costs associated with inflation, rising or elevated interest rates, labor conditions and supply chain pressures, and risks related to increased construction and development in markets in which our properties are located, including adverse effect on our future occupancy rates; (o) our ability to attract and retain talented employees; (p) the limitations and significant requirements imposed upon our business as a result of our status as a REIT and the adverse consequences (including the possible loss of our status as a REIT) that would result if we are not able to comply with such requirements; (q) the ownership limits contained in our certificate of incorporation with respect to our capital stock in order to preserve our qualification as a REIT, which may delay, defer or prevent a change of control of our company; (r) the risk of changes in healthcare law or regulation or in tax laws, guidance and interpretations, particularly as applied to REITs, that could adversely affect us or our tenants, managers or borrowers; (s) increases in our borrowing costs as a result of becoming more leveraged, including in connection with acquisitions or other investment activity and rising or elevated interest rates; (t) our reliance on third-party managers and tenants to operate or exert substantial control over properties they manage for or rent from us, which limits our control and influence over such operations and results; (u) our exposure to various operational risks, liabilities and claims from our operating assets; (v) our dependency on a limited number of tenants and managers for a significant portion of our revenues and operating income; (w) our exposure to particular risks due to our specific asset classes and operating markets, such as adverse changes affecting our specific asset classes and the real estate industry, the competitiveness or financial viability of hospitals on or near the campuses where our outpatient medical buildings are located, our relationships with universities, the level of expense and uncertainty of our research tenants, and the limitation of our uses of some properties we own that are subject to ground lease, air rights or other restrictive agreements; (x) the risk of damage to our reputation; (y) the availability, adequacy and pricing of insurance coverage provided by our policies and policies maintained by our tenants, managers or other counterparties; (z) the risk of exposure to unknown liabilities from our investments in properties or businesses; (aa) the occurrence of cybersecurity threats and incidents that could disrupt our or our tenants’, managers’ or borrower’s operations, result in the loss of confidential or personal information or damage our business relationships and reputation; (bb) the failure to maintain effective internal controls, which could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition; (cc) the impact of merger, acquisition and investment activity in the healthcare industry or otherwise affecting our tenants, managers or borrowers; (dd) disruptions to the management and operations of our business and the uncertainties caused by activist investors; (ee) the risk of catastrophic or extreme weather and other natural events and the physical effects of climate change; (ff) the risk of potential dilution resulting from future sales or issuances of our equity securities; and (gg) the other factors set forth in our periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

Item. 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits.

 

(d) Exhibits:

 

Exhibit
Number
  Description  
1.1   Amendment No. 1 to the Sales Agreement, dated February 20, 2024, among Ventas, Inc. and the Agents and Forward Purchasers named therein.
5.1   Opinion of Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP.
23.1   Consent of Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP (included in Exhibit 5.1).
104   Cover Page Interactive Data File (formatted as inline XBRL).

 

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SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

 

Date: February 20, 2024

 

  VENTAS, INC.
   
  By: /s/ Carey S. Roberts
    Name: Carey S. Roberts
    Title: Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Ethics & Compliance Officer

 

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