Medical Properties Trust Prices IPO, Adds Properties

BIRMINGHAM, AL-Medical Properties Trust Inc. on Friday set the terms for an initial public offering worth as much as $145 million. The locally headquartered company buys, develops and leases medical facilities.The offering will consist of 12.1 million shares at $10 to $12 apiece, the company said in the most recent amendment to its S-11 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. A portion of the proceeds from the IPO will cover the development costs of a community hospital in Bloomington, IN, the filing said.The company was formed in mid 2003 and raised $233.5 million in a private placement of its common stock, the filing states. The company expects to list on the NYSE under the symbol “MPW” and intends to elect to be taxed as a REIT going back to the 2004 tax year. Also last week, Medical Properties Trust completed acquisition and development transactions for two healthcare facilities. The largest transaction involves the development of North Cypress Medical Center in Houston, with a total estimated development cost of approximately $64 million.North Cypress Medical Center is an 88-bed general acute care hospital under development in northwest Houston. The operator will be a partnership comprised of approximately 80 local physicians. Upon completion of the development in late 2006, NCMC will lease the facility for an initial term of 15 years, with three renewal options of five years each. Medical Properties Trust also acquired the Gulf States Long-Term Acute Care Hospital in Covington, LA for approximately $11.5 million and made a $6-million mortgage loan secured by a facility occupied by Gulf States Long-Term Acute Care Hospital of Denham Springs, LA. Medical Properties Trust expects to acquire the Denham Springs facility for the loan amount if certain requirements are satisfied. The Covington facility is located approximately 40 miles north of New Orleans and contains 58 beds. The Denham Springs facility, which is situated approximately 16 miles west of Baton Rouge, has 59 beds. Both are operated by affiliates of Gulf States Health Services, Inc., a hospital management company based in Baton Rouge. The current lease and loan agreements are for initial terms of 15 years and the lease agreement includes three renewal options of five years each. Medical Properties Trust’s current portfolio consists of 11 healthcare facilities, eight of which are in operation and three of which are under development. Six of the facilities in operation–four rehabilitation hospitals and two long-term acute care hospitals–are leased to subsidiaries of Vibra Healthcare LLC, formerly known as Highmark Healthcare LLC, a recently formed specialty healthcare provider with operations in six states. All of the leases for the hospitals currently in operation have initial terms of 15 years.