TOLEDO, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 6, 2007--Health Care REIT, Inc. (NYSE:HCN) announced today that it has closed an expanded $1.15 billion unsecured revolving credit facility, replacing the company's existing $700 million facility scheduled to mature July 2009 and its $40 million line of credit with Fifth Third Bank, which has been consolidated into this facility.

Highlights of the expanded credit facility include:

• Increased financial flexibility and borrowing capacity.
• Extension of agreement from three to four-year maturity expiring August 2011, with the company's option to extend for an additional year.
• Reduced current borrowing cost to 60 from 80 basis points over LIBOR.
• Addition of eight new banks to the company's bank group.

The credit facility was arranged by KeyBank National Association as Joint Lead Arranger and Administrative Agent and Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. as Joint Lead Arranger and Syndication Agent. UBS Securities LLC, Bank of America, N.A., JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., Barclays Bank PLC, Calyon and Fifth Third Bank were the Documentation Agents.

"We believe that the improved terms and additional capacity of this credit facility reflect the significant changes to our business model over the past year. This facility enhances our ability to execute our strategy through all cycles of the credit market," stated George L. Chapman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Health Care REIT. "We are also pleased with the support and additional commitments provided by our bank group."

Health Care REIT, Inc., with headquarters in Toledo, Ohio, is a self-administered, equity real estate investment trust that invests across the full spectrum of senior housing and health care real estate, including independent living/continuing care retirement communities, assisted living facilities, skilled nursing facilities, hospitals, long-term acute care hospitals and medical office buildings. Founded in 1970, the company was the first real estate investment trust to invest exclusively in health care facilities. As of June 30, 2007, the company's broadly diversified portfolio consisted of 617 properties in 38 states. The company also offers a full array of property management and development services. More information is available on the Internet at www.hcreit.com.

This document may contain "forward-looking" statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements concern and are based upon, among other things, the possible expansion of the company's portfolio; the sale of properties; the performance of its operators and properties; its occupancy rates; its ability to acquire or develop properties; its ability to manage properties; its ability to enter into agreements with new viable tenants for vacant space or for properties that the company takes back from financially troubled tenants, if any; its ability to make distributions; its policies and plans regarding investments, financings and other matters; its tax status as a real estate investment trust; its ability to appropriately balance the use of debt and equity; its ability to access capital markets or other sources of funds; its critical accounting policies; and its ability to meet its earnings guidance. 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 are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties. The company's expected results may not be achieved, and actual results may differ materially from expectations. This may be a result of various factors, including, but not limited to: the status of the economy; the status of capital markets, including prevailing interest rates; issues facing the health care industry, including compliance with, and changes to, regulations and payment policies; operators' and tenants' difficulty in cost-effectively obtaining and maintaining adequate liability and other insurance; changes in financing terms; competition within the health care and senior housing industries; negative developments in the operating results or financial condition of operators or tenants, including, but not limited to, their ability to pay rent and repay loans; the company's ability to transition or sell facilities with a profitable result; the failure of closings to occur as and when anticipated; acts of God affecting the company's properties; the company's ability to timely reinvest sale proceeds at similar rates to assets sold; the company's ability to re-lease space at similar rates as vacancies occur; operator or tenant bankruptcies or insolvencies; government regulations affecting Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement rates; liability or contract claims by or against operators and tenants; unanticipated difficulties and/or expenditures relating to future acquisitions and the integration of multi-property acquisitions; environmental laws affecting the company's properties; changes in rules or practices governing the company's financial reporting; and legal and operational matters, including real estate investment trust qualification and key management personnel recruitment and retention. Finally, 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.

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

SOURCE: Health Care REIT, Inc.