NorthWest Healthcare Properties REIT plans IPO

* Says plans to acquire 45 income-producing properties

* Does not say how much it expects to raise with offering

TORONTO Feb 10 (Reuters) - NorthWest Healthcare Properties Real Estate Investment Trust, a top Canadian manager of medical office buildings and health care facilities, said on Wednesday it plans an initial public offering of units.

The REIT did not state the purpose of the IPO, but it did say that on, or before, the closing of the offering it plans to acquire a portfolio of 45 medical office buildings.

NorthWest did not say how much it hoped to raise with the offering.

Real estate investment trusts are lining up to raise capital to acquire commercial properties or even the entire portfolios of smaller rivals as they bet on an economic recovery.

Their job is made easier because they can offer conservative investors relatively safe places to plant capital at rates of return higher than that on Canada's benchmark 10-year bond CA10YT=RR, currently at about 3.4 percent.

Analysts say some REITs may return more than 10 percent.

The NorthWest offering is being underwritten by a syndicate of underwriters led by RBC Capital Markets (RY.TO) and including BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc (BMO.TO), CIBC World Markets Inc (CM.TO), National Bank Financial Inc (NA.TO), Scotia Capital Inc (BNS.TO), TD Securities Inc (TD.TO), Canaccord Financial Ltd (CF.TO), Macquarie Capital Markets Canada Ltd. and Versant Partners Inc.

($1=$1.06 Canadian) (Reporting by Pav Jordan; editing by Peter Galloway)