JEDA Helps Refinance Roper St. Francis Healthcare Revenue Bonds
Bond financing facilitated by the South Carolina Jobs-Economic Development Authority (JEDA) has helped Roper St. Francis Healthcare in Charleston restructure a portion of its outstanding debt.
JEDA recently issued $30 million tax-exempt revenue bonds on behalf of Roper St. Francis Healthcare, a non-profit healthcare system and the largest non-governmental, private employer in Charleston, enabling it to refinance existing debt on very favorable terms. The bonds were originally issued in 1999 to defray the cost of expanding the system which now includes Roper Hospital on the Charleston peninsula, Bon Secours St. Francis Hospital in West Ashley, and the soon to be completed Roper St. Francis Mount Pleasant Hospital.
“JEDA bond funding has helped us grow our services and facilities in the past and now is helping us to sustain that progress,” said Bret Johnson, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Roper St. Francis Healthcare.
“By partnering with JEDA, Roper St. Francis Healthcare was able to successfully capitalize on a time-sensitive opportunity to restructure and reduce its debt” said Bond Counsel Jeremy Cook, a Shareholder of Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, P.A., in Charleston.
“Refinancing like this is a complicated process and being able to facilitate it for organizations such as Roper St. Francis Healthcare is particularly gratifying,” said Harry Huntley, Executive Director of JEDA in Columbia.