February.28.2017
Orrick has advised bond issuers on a trio of multi-state bond financings for California nonprofit Launchpad Development Company, in an aggregate par amount of $42,160,000, which financed the acquisition and development of five school facilities in California, Tennessee and Wisconsin for California nonprofit Rocketship Education elementary schools. This is Tennessee's first publicly offered charter school tax-exempt bond financing.
The Tennessee issuance was in the aggregate principal amount of $7,990,000. The issuer was the Health and Educational Facilities Board of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee. The financing was for the acquisition of the facilities for the Rocketship Nashville Northeast Elementary, a K-4 public charter school with 536 students located in Nashville.
Completion of the transaction enabled Launchpad Development Company to provide educational facilities for the Rocketship Education elementary schools using long-term, fully amortizing, fixed-rate, tax-exempt financing. In addition, Launchpad Development Company utilized a credit enhancement vehicle known as an “obligated group” structure to contemporaneously issue bonds in three states through three different conduit governmental issuers, providing for financing of the five charter school campuses for Rocketship Education. This is the first coordinated multi-state, multi-issuer obligated group tax-exempt financing for charter school facilities in municipal market history.
The Orrick team advising on this financing includes partners Eugene Clark-Herrera, Charles “Chas” Cardall and Todd Brewer, and associates Christine Rankin, Andrea Ball and Lauren Herrera.