TOLEDO, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 31, 2009-- Health Care REIT, Inc. (NYSE:HCN) announced that it intends to offer, subject to market and other conditions, 5,000,000 shares of its common stock. Health Care REIT intends to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 750,000 shares to cover over-allotments, if any. The shares of common stock will be registered under Health Care REIT’s existing shelf registration statement on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The company intends to use the net proceeds from this offering to retire approximately $53.1 million of mortgages payable and to invest in additional health care and senior housing properties. Pending such use, the company intends to use the net proceeds to repay borrowings under its unsecured line of credit and other outstanding indebtedness.

The joint bookrunning managers for the offering are BofA Merrill Lynch, J.P. Morgan and UBS Investment Bank.

A copy of the preliminary prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus relating to the proposed offering may be obtained by contacting BofA Merrill Lynch, 4 World Financial Center, New York, NY 10080, Attn: Prospectus Department; J.P. Morgan Securities Inc., National Statement Processing, Prospectus Library, 4 Chase Metrotech Center, CS Level, Brooklyn, NY 11245, or by telephone at (718) 242-8002; UBS Investment Bank, 299 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10171, Attn: Prospectus Department or by telephone toll-free at (888) 827-7275, ext. 3884.

This press release is not an offer to sell, nor a solicitation of an offer to buy securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which the offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of such state or jurisdiction.

Health Care REIT, Inc., an S&P 500 company with headquarters in Toledo, Ohio, is a real estate investment trust that invests across the full spectrum of senior housing and health care real estate. The company also provides an extensive array of property management and development services. As of June 30, 2009, the company’s broadly diversified portfolio consisted of 620 properties in 39 states. More information is available on the company’s website at www.hcreit.com. The information on our website is not part of the proposed offering.

This document may contain “forward-looking” statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When the company uses words such as “may,” “will,” “intend,” “should,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “project,” “estimate” or similar expressions, it is making forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements reflect current plans and expectations and are based on information currently available. They are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, including those discussed in the preliminary prospectus supplement and related prospectus and in the company’s other reports filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Completion of the proposed offering is subject to various factors, including, but not limited to, the status of the economy and the status of capital markets. The company assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements.

Source: Health Care REIT, Inc.

Health Care REIT, Inc.
Mike Crabtree, 419-247-2800
or
Scott Estes, 419-247-2800