HAMILTON, Ohio — Ziegler has arranged $20 million in bond financing for Community First Solutions, a healthcare services company based in Hamilton.
The bonds were issued through the Butler County Port Authority, and consisted of $15.3 million of tax-exempt bonds and $4.7 million of federally taxable bonds.
Community First Solutions (CFS) is a nonprofit company that provides a continuum of services to meet the diverse health and wellness needs of more than 30,000 clients throughout the region. CFS is the parent company of multiple subsidiaries and operates two senior living life plan communities, a dedicated post-acute rehabilitation center, an array of behavioral health services, pharmacy services, the largest provider of home delivered meals in the county, and a spectrum of other community-based supports.
Proceeds of the bonds, along with other available funds, will be used to finance $4 million of new money to partially fund the addition of 14 new independent living units and approximately $4.5 million to fund routine capital expenditures.
Proceeds of the Series 2021B Bonds will be used to (i) refund a portion of CFS’ outstanding debt; and (ii) pay certain costs of issuance associated with the financing.
The Series 2021 Bonds are rated “A-” by Fitch, and were the first not-for-profit senior living bonds to be rated under Fitch’s new criteria. The Series 2021A Bonds are tax-exempt fixed rate term bonds, wrapping around the Series 2021B Bonds and amortizing over 30 years. The Series 2021B Bonds are federally taxable fixed rate term bonds, amortizing over 11 years. The Series 2021A Bonds are optionally callable in 7 years at 103% declining to par in 2031. The Series 2021B Bonds are optionally callable in 10 years at par.
“We were able to lock in historically low interest rates and we eliminated a number of individual bank notes that had various rates and maturities while also adding some additional funds to support a small expansion of independent living units on one of our campuses,” says Brian Krause, CFO of Community First Solutions.