NorthWest Healthcare Properties REIT Announces $200 Million Equity Financing

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TORONTO, Feb. 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NorthWest Healthcare Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (TSX: NWH.UN) (“NorthWest” or the “REIT”) announced today a public offering, on a "bought deal" basis, of 15,820,000 trust units (the “Units”) at a price of $12.65 per Unit (the “Offering Price”) representing gross proceeds of approximately $200,123,000 (the "Public Offering"). The Public Offering is being made through a syndicate of underwriters co-led by Scotiabank, RBC Capital Markets, and BMO Capital Markets.

The REIT has also granted the underwriters the option to purchase up to an additional 2,373,000 Units to cover over-allotments, if any, exercisable in whole or in part anytime up to 30 days following closing of the Public Offering.

Concurrently with the Public Offering, the REIT has also entered into an agreement to sell 395,257 to 1,976,285 trust units to NorthWest Value Partners Inc. (“NWVP”), NorthWest's largest unitholder, on a non-brokered private placement basis at the Offering Price for gross proceeds of approximately $5 million to $25 million (the “Private Placement”, and together with the Public Offering, the “Offering”). NWVP currently holds an approximate 15.3% interest in NorthWest and is wholly-owned by Paul Dalla Lana, CEO of the REIT. Upon closing of the Private Placement, which is expected to occur in April 2021, NWVP will hold an approximate 14.3% to 15.0% effective interest in the REIT through ownership of trust units and Class B LP units (or approximately 14.1% to 14.8% assuming the exercise in full of the over-allotment option).

The REIT intends to use the net proceeds from the Offering to repay $196 million of corporate debt with a weighted average interest rate of approximately 6.1%, and the remainder, if any, to fund future acquisitions, to repay additional revolving debt and for general trust purposes.

Pro forma the Offering and the intended use of proceeds, NorthWest's proportionate leverage is expected to be reduced by 440 bps from approximately 58.2% (including transaction activity announced subsequent to Q3 2020) to approximately 53.8%, assuming low-end of the Private Placement range of $5 million.

As previously disclosed, the relative outperformance of healthcare infrastructure assets since the onset of COVID-19 combined with decreasing interest rates globally have driven the demand for the REIT’s assets which is expected to result in positive revaluation gains (the “Revaluation Gains”) to investment properties of between $125 million and $175 million (net asset value increase of approximately $0.70 to $1.00 per unit) in Q4 2020. The anticipated valuation increase is underpinned by third-party, independent property valuations consistent with the REIT’s valuation policy and remains subject to internal review, finalization of the REIT’s December 31, 2020 financial statements and completion of its year-end audit.