Ventas CEO Bullish on MOBs Under Trump

Ventas, Inc. (NYSE: VTR) doesn’t think Donald Trump’s presidency will impact its $6 billion medical office building business too much, according to chairman and CEO Debra Cafaro.

“We have the leading [medical office building] business in the nation, it’s worth over $6 billion, and we continue to expect that over-65, baby boomer, Medicare-eligible population to continue fueling demand in the medical office building space,” Cafaro said in an interview with REIT.com.

In fact, the Chicago-based real estate investment trust (REIT) is in the process of building a $175 million medical office building in downtown San Francisco and is generally “very excited about [its] development pipeline,” Cafaro said.

There may be changes to or a repeal of the Affordable Care Act under a Trump presidency, Cafaro noted, but she anticipates that insured Americans will continue to be insured.

“That is something that may be done through different structures, but we still feel very positive about building a formidable business in the health space,” she said.

Cafaro attributes her positive four-year outlook to Ventas’ three main business segments: health care, life science and senior living.

“First and foremost, our business is driven by demographics,” she explained, adding that there’s “tremendous demand” for senior living, life sciences and health care.

“No election’s going to change that,” Cafaro said. “That demand is going to continue.”

Over half of Ventas’ business is in private pay senior living—a business that’s expected to “explode,” Cafaro said. In her opinion, private pay senior living will be unaffected by whoever’s in the White House.

Overall, Cafaro expressed confidence in her business for 2017.

“We’ve got a great, diversified business, and I expect the demand for what we offer to continue,” Cafaro said.

Chances are, Ventas will also be acquisition-heavy in the coming year, Cafaro added.

“Of course, Ventas is an acquisition machine, and I would expect to see some acquisition opportunities in 2017,” Cafaro said. “[I] don’t know what they are yet, but we’ll be ready to take advantage when we see opportunities.”

View the full interview on REIT.com.

Written by Mary Kate Nelson

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