Meditrust Completes an Additional $500 Million of Asset Sales
Total Bank Debt Reduced to $450 Million; Total Debt Outstanding Reduced to $1.6 Billion
DALLAS, Sept. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- The Meditrust Companies (NYSE: MT - news) announced today that it has recently completed additional healthcare asset sales and mortgage repayments of approximately $500 million, generating total proceeds since the announcement of its Five Point Plan of reorganization in January 2000 of $959 million. The net book value of Meditrust's remaining healthcare assets is approximately $1 billion.
The early repayment of mortgages related to 100 facilities and the purchase of one facility by Life Care Centers of America, Inc. and Health Asset Realty Trust, generated total proceeds of $500 million. This transaction involved 96 long-term care facilities, three assisted living facilities, and two retirement living facilities. A summary of Meditrust's real estate portfolio as of June 30, 2000, pro forma for asset sales from July 1 through September 1, 2000, is attached as Exhibit 1 to this release.
Francis W. (``Butch'') Cash, Chief Executive Officer of Meditrust said, ``Over the past seven months we have sold healthcare assets and paid down debt, executing the goals outlined in our Five Point Plan. We are pleased with our success and will continue our work to position Meditrust as an operationally sound and substantially deleveraged company.''
With the above-described transaction, as well as those described below, Meditrust has completed $959 million of transactions since the announcement of its Five Point Plan:
-- the sale of the Companies' medical office building management company,
23 medical office buildings, three medical office building mortgage
loans, 12 assisted living facilities, and the partial repayment of one
mortgage loan for total consideration of $236 million;
-- the early repayment of a mortgage related to a long-term care facility
for $8 million;
-- the sale of four long-term care facilities with total proceeds of
$22 million;
-- the early repayment of mortgage loans related to two medical office
buildings for $48 million;
-- the sale of one mortgage loan on a retirement living facility for
$7 million; and
-- the sale of one medical office building and one long-term care facility
along with the early repayment of mortgages pertaining to five assisted
living facilities and two long-term care facilities, for total proceeds
of $138 million.
Losses recorded related to these $959 million of transactions, including previously recorded provisions for ``assets held for sale'', are approximately $244 million. Part of the $500 million in proceeds from the transactions announced today were used to fully pay down Meditrust's revolving credit line. The Company has also voluntarily reduced its revolving credit line commitment from $850 million to $400 million and agreed to prepay $50 million of its term bank loan (Tranche D commitment). Total debt due in the year 2001 has now been reduced to $676 million from $1.4 billion at December 31, 1999. Total indebtedness has now been reduced to $1.6 billion from $2.6 billion at December 31, 1999.
Michael F. Bushee, Chief Operating Officer of Meditrust Corporation, commented, ``We are pleased with our ability to complete a transaction of this size involving healthcare mortgages in a tight market for healthcare capital. The closing of this transaction demonstrates the Companies' ability to sell healthcare assets, even in difficult times. Looking forward, we remain confident in our ability to sell assets, particularly given that the cash flow coverage of our remaining portfolio is 1.6 X for the six months ended June 30, 2000.'' |
