Medical Properties Trust Sells Utah Hospitals for $886M, Uses Proceeds to Pay Down Debt

• Medical Properties Trust sold its interests in 5 Utah hospitals for $886 million, retaining a 25% stake in a joint venture that purchased the hospitals

• The deal generated $1.1 billion total cash proceeds for Medical Properties Trust

• The company plans to use proceeds primarily to pay down debt, including its $300 million Australian term loan and borrowings on its revolving credit facility

• The asset sale comes after other recent deals to divest facilities, including the $350 million sale of 5 properties to Prime Healthcare

• Investors are celebrating the moves to divest assets and clean up Medical Properties Trust's balance sheet, with the stock yielding around 12.7%