Warren County, Kentucky, sold $150 million in bonds to fund the expansion of a medical center in the state’s south central region.
The bonds mature between 2033 and 2054, yielding between 3% and 4.19%. They received a rating of AA- from S&P Global Ratings and AA- from Fitch Ratings.
The county will loan the bond proceeds to Bowling Green-Warren County Community Hospital Corporation, a subsidiary of the Med Center Health (MCH) hospital system.
The rating reflects the MCH’s “very strong operating risk assessment and leading market position in a primary service area with favorable population growth yet relatively weak income and wealth metrics,” Fitch analysts wrote.
The bond proceeds will fund the expansion of MCH in the city of Bowling Green. The hospital system will use the funds to build a five-story, 175,000 square-foot patient care tower. The project “is expected to address increased demand over the next ten years, both from anticipated growth… as well as strategic growth,” the official statement accompanying the sale of the bonds reads.
Warren County is in southern Kentucky, just north of Tennessee. The bonds are special and limited obligations of the county, payable by MCH revenue.
BofA Securities, Inc served as underwriter on the issuance, purchasing the bonds for more than $164 million. The price reflected a premium of almost $15 million. Robert W. Baird & Co Inc acted as financial advisor.