NEWTON, Mass.—Diversified Healthcare Trust announced that it has entered into an agreement with a global institutional investor to acquire an equity interest in DHC’s existing joint venture that owns the two building life science complex located at 11 Fan Pier and 50 Northern Avenue in Boston, MA.
The new investor will acquire from DHC a 35% equity interest in the joint venture for a purchase price of approximately $378 million, with the existing partner continuing to own a 45% equity interest and DHC owning the remaining 20% equity interest. The purchase price for the 35% equity interest is based on a property valuation of $1.7 billion, less the $620 million of existing secured debt on the property.
The property included in the joint venture was acquired by DHC in May 2014 for $1.1 billion and consists of two 15-story, class A LEED® Gold Certified life science buildings located in Boston’s Seaport District. The two buildings are approximately 95% leased to Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. through 2028 and include 1.1 million rentable square feet of lab, corporate office and street level retail space.
DHC expects to use the cash proceeds from this transaction to fund capital expenditures, to reduce outstanding indebtedness and for other general business purposes.
Jennifer Francis, President and Chief Executive Officer of DHC, made the following statement about today’s announcement:
“Since our purchase of this property in 2014, the Boston Seaport District has emerged as one of the top life science markets in the United States. Adding a new private capital partner to this existing joint venture highlights the sizable value appreciation in the past seven years. It also provides additional balance sheet liquidity for DHC and we expect it to help reduce our overall leverage in the coming year.”
The joint venture is managed by The RMR Group (Nasdaq: RMR), a leading U.S. alternative asset management company that is headquartered in Newton, MA and the manager of DHC. RMR is responsible for providing all aspects of business and property management services for more than 1,300 properties with over 93 million square feet of commercial office, industrial, medical office, life science and retail space.
Diversified Healthcare Trust (Nasdaq: DHC) is a real estate investment trust, or REIT, focused on owning high-quality healthcare properties located throughout the United States. DHC seeks diversification across the health services spectrum: by care delivery and practice type, by scientific research disciplines, and by property type and location. As of September 30, 2021, DHC’s $8.2 billion portfolio included 392 properties in 36 states and Washington, D.C., occupied by approximately 600 tenants, and totaling approximately 10.9 million square feet of life science and medical office properties and more than 27,000 senior living units. DHC is managed by The RMR Group.
