8-K

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of Earliest Event Reported): December 3, 2004

VENTAS, INC.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

Delaware	1-10989	61-1055020
(State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation)	(Commission File Number)	(IRS Employer Identification No.)

10350 Ormsby Park Place, Suite 300, Louisville, Kentucky	40223
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)	(Zip Code)

Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code: (502) 357-9000

Not Applicable

(Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the Registrant under any of the following provisions:

¨ Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

¨ Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

¨ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

¨ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Item 8.01. Other Events.

On December 3, 2004, Ventas, Inc. (the “Company”) announced that its Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.325 per share, payable in cash on January 13, 2005 to stockholders of record on January 3, 2005. The dividend is the fourth quarterly installment of the Company’s $1.30 per share 2004 annual dividend.

A copy of the press release issued by the Company on December 3, 2004 is filed herewith as Exhibit 99.1 and incorporated in this Item 8.01 by reference.

Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(a) Financial Statements of Businesses Acquired.

Not applicable.

(b) Pro Forma Financial Information.

Not applicable.

(c) Exhibits:

Exhibit Number	Description
99.1	Press Release issued by the Company on December 3, 2004.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

	VENTAS, INC.
Date: December 3, 2004	By:	/s/ T. Richard Riney
		T. Richard Riney
		Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary

EXHIBIT INDEX

Exhibit Number	Description
99.1	Press Release issued by the Company on December 3, 2004.

EX-99.1

Exhibit 99.1

Ventas, Inc. 10350 Ormsby Park Place Suite 300 Louisville, Kentucky 40223 (502) 357 9000 (502) 357 9029 Fax

Contacts:	Debra A. Cafaro
	Chairman, President and CEO
	or
	Richard A. Schweinhart
	Senior Vice President and CFO
	(502) 357-9000

VENTAS DECLARES REGULAR QUARTERLY

DIVIDEND OF $0.325 PER SHARE

LOUISVILLE, KY (December 3, 2004) – Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) (“Ventas” or the “Company”) said today that its Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.325 per share, payable in cash on January 13, 2005, to stockholders of record on January 3, 2005. The dividend is the fourth quarterly installment of the Company’s $1.30 per share 2004 annual dividend. The Company has approximately 84.4 million shares of common stock outstanding. This fourth quarterly installment of the 2004 dividend will be included in shareholders’ 2005 dividend income for income tax purposes.

Ventas, Inc. is a leading healthcare real estate investment trust that owns and invests in healthcare and senior housing assets in 39 states. Its properties include hospitals, skilled nursing facilities and assisted and independent living facilities. More information about Ventas can be found on its website at www.ventasreit.com.

This press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements regarding Ventas, Inc.’s (“Ventas” or the “Company”) and its subsidiaries’ expected future financial position, results of operations, cash flows, funds from operations, dividends and dividend plans, financing plans, business strategy, budgets, projected costs, capital expenditures, competitive positions, growth opportunities, expected lease income, continued qualification as a real estate investment trust (“REIT”), plans and objectives of management for future operations and statements that include words such as “anticipate,” “if,” “believe,” “plan,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “could,” “should,” “will” and other similar expressions are forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain, and security holders must recognize that actual results may differ from the Company’s expectations. The Company does not undertake a duty to update such forward-looking statements.

Actual future results and trends for the Company may differ materially depending on a variety of factors discussed in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”). Factors that may affect the plans or results of the Company include, without limitation, (a) the ability and willingness of Kindred Healthcare, Inc. (“Kindred”) and certain of its affiliates to continue to meet and/or perform their obligations under their contractual arrangements with the Company and the Company’s subsidiaries, including without limitation the lease agreements and various agreements entered into by the Company and Kindred at the time of the Company’s spin off of Kindred on May 1, 1998 (the “1998 Spin Off”), as such agreements may have been amended and restated in connection with Kindred’s emergence from bankruptcy on April 20, 2001, (b) the ability and willingness of Kindred to continue to meet and/or perform its obligation to indemnify and defend the Company for all litigation and other claims relating to the healthcare operations and other assets and liabilities transferred to Kindred in the 1998 Spin Off, (c) the ability of Kindred and the Company’s other operators, tenants and borrowers to maintain the financial strength and liquidity necessary to satisfy their respective obligations and duties under the leases and other agreements with the Company, and their existing credit agreements, (d) the Company’s success in implementing its business strategy and the Company’s ability to identify, underwrite, consummate and integrate diversifying acquisitions or investments, (e) the nature and extent of future competition, (f) the extent of future healthcare reform and regulation, including cost containment measures and changes in reimbursement policies, procedures and rates, (g) increases in the cost of borrowing for the Company, (h) the ability of the Company’s operators to deliver high quality care and to attract patients, (i) the results of litigation affecting the Company, (j) changes in general economic conditions and/or economic conditions in the markets in which the Company may, from time to time, compete, (k) the ability of the Company to pay down, refinance, restructure, and/or extend its indebtedness as it becomes due, (l) the movement of interest rates and the resulting

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Ventas Declares Regular Quarterly Dividend of $0.325 Per Share

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December 3, 2004

impact on the value of and the accounting for the Company’s interest rate swap agreement, (m) the ability and willingness of the Company to maintain its qualification as a REIT due to economic, market, legal, tax or other considerations, (n) final determination of the Company’s taxable net income for the year ending December 31, 2004, (o) the ability and willingness of the Company’s tenants to renew their leases with the Company upon expiration of the leases and the Company’s ability to relet its properties on the same or better terms in the event such leases expire and are not renewed by the existing tenants, and (p) the impact on the liquidity, financial condition and results of operations of Kindred and the Company’s other operators resulting from increased operating costs and uninsured liabilities for professional liability claims, and the ability of Kindred and the Company’s other operators to accurately estimate the magnitude of such liabilities. Many of such factors are beyond the control of the Company and its management.

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