Ventas

In 1985, Bruce Lunsford and two other partners founded Vencor. During his tenure, Vencor grew to employ more than 65,000 people in 45 states, caring for 50,000 patients.⁠[1]

Incorporated in Kentucky in 1983 as Vencare, Inc., the company began operations in 1985.⁠[2]

On May 1, 1998, the company spun off its hospital, nursing and ancillary operations as a new public company (later Vencor), keeping its real estate and renaming itself Ventas.⁠[2]

The spun-off operator became Kindred, whose master leases had primary terms of ten to 15 years from May 1, 1998.⁠[3]

On March 8, 1999, Ventas announced that Debra A. Cafaro had been elected President and Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately, succeeding Thomas T. Ladt. She had previously been President and a director of Ambassador Apartments, Inc., a multifamily REIT.⁠[4]

Cafaro has also served as Chairman of the Board since 2003; as of the 2026 proxy statement she remained Chairman and CEO.⁠[5]

On September 13, 1999, principal tenant Vencor filed for chapter 11 protection and disputed its master-lease rent.⁠[2]

The company acquired Provident Senior Living Trust in June 2005. On April 26, 2007, it completed the acquisition of all assets of Sunrise Senior Living Real Estate Investment Trust (Sunrise REIT) for about $2.0 billion including assumed debt, gaining full or majority interests in 77 seniors housing communities.⁠[3]

Ventas sued HCP, Inc. in federal court in the Western District of Kentucky for tortious interference with a prospective advantage over its Sunrise REIT acquisition; the jury awarded $101,672,807. On May 17, 2011, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed the judgment, reversed the ruling that barred punitive damages, and remanded for trial on punitive damages alone.⁠[6]

The jury verdict was rendered in 2009. In August 2011, HCP paid $102.8 million for the judgment plus certain costs and interest, and in November 2011 it paid a further $125.0 million in final settlement, ending all aspects of the litigation. The company recognized about $202.3 million of net proceeds in its 2011 income statement.⁠[7]

On February 24, 2009, Standard & Poor’s announced that Ventas would replace Jones Apparel Group in the S&P 500, effective after the close of trading on March 3.⁠[8]

As of December 31, 2010, the company had 263 full-time employees, 196 of them at its Lillibridge Healthcare Services subsidiary; Lillibridge managed 101 of the company’s medical office buildings and 31 more for third parties. Its principal executive offices were then in Chicago, Illinois.⁠[9]

On May 12, 2011, Ventas completed the $3.1 billion acquisition of 118 private-pay seniors housing communities from Atria Senior Living Group. Before closing, Atria spun off its management business into a new company that continued to manage the properties.⁠[10]

On July 1, 2011, Ventas acquired Nationwide Health Properties, Inc. (NHP) in a stock-for-stock transaction. By August 2011 it had completed $11 billion of acquisitions that year, with a portfolio of more than 1,300 assets in 47 states (including the District of Columbia) and two Canadian provinces.⁠[11]

On January 16, 2015, Ventas completed its acquisition of American Realty Capital Healthcare Trust, Inc. (HCT). Each HCT share could be exchanged, at the holder’s election, for 0.1688 Ventas shares or $11.33 in cash. The deal added 4 million square feet of medical office buildings, bringing Ventas to more than 1,600 assets.⁠[12]

On August 18, 2015, Ventas completed the spin-off of most of its skilled nursing facility portfolio as Care Capital Properties, Inc., a standalone REIT. Stockholders of record on August 10 received one CCP share for every four Ventas shares, and CCP listed on the New York Stock Exchange.⁠[13]

On September 1, 2016, Ventas completed the $1.5 billion cash acquisition of substantially all of Wexford’s life science and medical real estate: 23 operating properties with 4.1 million square feet, two development assets and nine development sites, leased to universities, academic medical centers and research companies; Wexford continued to manage the portfolio.⁠[14]

On September 21, 2021, Ventas completed its all-stock acquisition of New Senior Investment Group Inc., valued at about $2.3 billion including debt assumed or repaid. New Senior owned 103 properties across 36 states, and its stockholders received 0.1561 newly issued Ventas shares per share.⁠[15]

Ventas common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange. As of December 31, 2025, the company had 1,409 properties and 542 employees.⁠[16]

In 2025, total revenues were about $5.834 billion and net income attributable to common stockholders was about $251.4 million ($0.54 per diluted share); the company closed $2.5 billion of senior housing investments during the year.⁠[17]

On October 27, 2026, Ventas posted third-quarter attributable net income of $0.13 per diluted share and normalized FFO of $0.99 per share, up 10% from a year earlier. It closed $1.2 billion of senior housing investments in the quarter and $5.2 billion year to date, and raised its full-year normalized FFO guidance to $3.87–$3.90 per share.⁠[18]