Financial stocks were narrowly higher this afternoon ,with the NYSE Financial Sector Index rising about 0.1% and the S&P Financial 100 Index climbing 0.2%.
In company news, American Realty Capital Healthcare Trust Inc. ( HCT ) advanced Monday after agreeing to a $2.6 billion cash and stock buyout offer from Ventas Inc ( VTR ), extending the reach of what already is one of the largest U.S. real estate investment trusts focused on healthcare facilities.
HCT shares were up nearly 9% at $10.83 apiece in mid-day trade, earlier climbing as high as $12.30 a share, the stock's best price since its April 7 debut as a publicly traded company.
VTR is offering $11.33 for each HCT share, a 14% premium to its most recent closing price, with HCT shareholders having the choice of receiving that amount in cash or 0.1688 of a VTR share. The cash portion of the deal is capped at 10% of HCT shares.
Once the deal is complete, HCT shareholders - who will need to sign off on the proposed transaction - would own about 8% of the combined companies.
Separately, VTR said it was buying 29 independent-living facilities in Canada from Holiday Retirement for around $900 million (C$980 mln) in cash. Together with the HCT purchase, VTR expects the acquisition will add about $0.10 to its per-share funds from operations.
VTR shares were off about 3.4% at $64.52 apiece in recent trade, earlier slipping to a session low of $64.08 a share. The stock has a 52-week range of $54.89 to $73.41 a share, declining about 5.3% over the same span.
In other sector news,
(+) PL, (+11.7%) Dai-ichi Life reportedly is looking to buy the American life insurance carrier for around $4.9 bln (500 bln yen). The Japanese company told The Wall Street Journal it is interested in a U.S. firm but would not name a target.
(-) AFSI, (-3.0%) Weekend Barron's article questions "multimillion-dollar incongruities" in the company's regulatory filings.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
