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TOLEDO, Ohio--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--Health Care REIT, Inc. (NYSE:HCN) today announced that it has priced $600 million in aggregate principal amount of 4.125% senior unsecured notes due April 1, 2019. The notes were priced at 99.694% of their face amount to yield 4.176%. Subject to customary closing conditions, the offering is expected to close on April 3, 2012.

The company intends to use the net proceeds from this offering to redeem or settle upon conversion approximately $126 million aggregate outstanding principal amount of its 4.75% convertible senior notes due 2026 at a redemption price of 100% of principal amount plus accrued and unpaid interest or the conversion price specified in those notes, as the case may be, to repay up to $226 million of certain secured indebtedness and, to the extent of remaining proceeds, for general corporate purposes, including investing in health care and seniors housing properties. Pending such use, the net proceeds may be invested in short-term, investment grade, interest-bearing securities, certificates of deposit or indirect or guaranteed obligations of the United States.

Barclays Capital Inc., J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, and UBS Securities LLC acted as joint book-running managers for the offering.

The offering is being made pursuant to Health Care REITas shelf registration statement on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. A copy of the prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus relating to the offering may be obtained by contacting Barclays Capital Inc., c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717, by phone (toll free): 888-603-5847 or by e-mail: [ barclaysprospectus@broadridge.com ]; J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, 383 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10179, attention: Investment Grade Syndicate Desk, or by telephone collect at 212-834-4533; or UBS Securities LLC, Attention: Prospectus Specialist, 299 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10171, or by telephone toll free at 877-827-6444, ext. 561 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.

About Health Care REIT. 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 seniors housing and health care real estate. The company also provides an extensive array of property management and development services. As of December 31, 2011, the companyas broadly diversified portfolio consisted of 937 properties in 46 states. More information is available on the company's website at [ www.hcreit.com ].

Forward-Looking Statements

This document may contain aforward-lookinga statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When the company uses words such as amay,a awill,a aintend,a ashould,a abelieve,a aexpect,a aanticipate,a aproject,a aestimatea or similar expressions, it is making forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties. The companyas 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, those factors discussed in the prospectus supplement and related prospectus and in the company's 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, customary closing conditions. 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.