Ventas had its largest gain in three years after buying Ardent Medical Services and announcing plans to spin off its nursing and rehab properties into an independent REIT. Shares jumped 5% to $76.90 after the $1.7B cash purchase of Ardent, a US hospital company. Ventas plans to own 10 hospitals, separate their operations into entities owned by equity sources, and have up to a 9.9% stake in those entities, Bloomberg Business reports. Ventas CEO Debra Cafaro (pictured) says this is the deal they've been waiting for to get into the $1T and growing US hospital market. Ardent facilities include 3.2M SF and 2,045 beds. Ventas also plans to spin off most of its new post-acute and skilled-nursing facilities into an independent, publicly traded REIT. The new company will own 355 healthcare properties in 37 states, and is expected to generate between $240M and $245M in funds in its first full year of business. [Bloomberg]