Meditrust to Sell Santa Anita Track for Loss, LA Times Says
Los Angeles, Oct. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Meditrust Co., the largest health-care real estate investment trust in the U.S., is trying to sell the Santa Anita Park racetrack in Arcadia, California, although the company is likely to fetch only about $150 million, far less than the $458 million paid for Santa Anita Cos. less than a year ago, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing unnamed sources. Meditrust bought Santa Anita Cos. in part because of potential REIT-related tax advantages for future acquisitions, which subsequently were eliminated by Congress and reduced the company's value by about $200 million, according to the paper. Needham Heights, Massachusetts-based Meditrust is trying to pay down $500 million in debt through asset sales and a restructuring to be announced this week, the Times said.
Shares of Meditrust, which diversified into the lodging and golf business by buying golf courses and La Quinta Inns, have fallen 53.6 percent this year. |
