Willkie client Ventas, Inc., the leading healthcare real estate investment trust (REIT) in the United States, recently announced it has completed its acquisition of Cogdell Spencer Inc. and its 72 high quality medical office buildings for approximately $770 million in cash, including debt. The deal, which was announced on December 27, 2011, expands Ventas’s medical office building business to over 20 million square feet. Ventas, Inc., an S&P 500 company, has a diverse portfolio of more than 1,300 assets in 47 states and two Canadian provinces, consisting of seniors housing communities, skilled nursing facilities, hospitals, medical office buildings and other properties. Charlotte-based Cogdell Spencer focuses on planning, owning, developing, constructing and managing medical facilities.

The deal was handled by Corporate: partners Steven Seidman and Mark Getachew and associates Sean Ewen, Adeline Park and Ruchi Patel; Real Estate: partner David Drewes and associates Eliot Rishty, Adam Feit and Owen Reidy; Tax: partner Henry Cohn and associate Meredith Levy; Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits: partner Michael Katz and associate Jennifer Long; Intellectual Property: special counsel Kim Walker and associate Amir Ghavi and Environmental: partner E. Donald Elliott and associate Johanna Hickman.