– by Robert Crump

The Tarrant County Cultural Education Facilities Finance Corporation (the Corporation) is expected to issue $193 million in Hospital Revenue Bonds this week. The negotiated sale is scheduled for February 6th with J.P. Morgan as the lead manager. Proceeds from the sale of the Bonds will be used to refund Series 2010 Bonds and to finance and reimburse the costs of constructing a new capital project.

About the Bonds

Series 2020 Bonds are limited obligations of the issuer payable solely by revenues derived from or in connection with a loan agreement between the Corporation and Cook Children’s Medical Center. Payments of the Bonds are structured under a master indenture that commits the hospital (and other members of the Obligated Group defined in the official statement) to the full and timely payment of the Securities while imposing certain restrictions in their operations and financial affairs. Authority to declare defaults, accelerate the maturity of securities and exercise other remedies is given to the Master Trustee.

It’s important to note that neither the State of Texas nor Tarrant County is obligated to pay the principal or interest or any redemption premium on the Bonds. Refunding of the Series 2010 is dependent upon the ability of the Medical Center to reduce debt service costs. Consequently, the extent to which proceeds of the Series 2020 Bonds will be used for such refunding will be decided by the Medical Center, in its sole discretion, at the time of sale and pricing of the Series 2020 Bonds.

The Bonds have an amortization schedule of 2020 to 2051, and are subject to optional, extraordinary optional, and mandatory sinking fund redemption prior to their stated maturity as in the official statement. In the opinion of Bond Counsel, interest on the Series 2020 Bonds is exempt from federal and alternative minimum tax. Exemption from state taxes are conditional on the Medical Center retaining its status as a tax exempt organization and several other conditions specified in the official statement. Moody’s has granted a rating of Aa2, and S&P has granted a rating of AA.

Healthcare System

Cook Children’s Health Care System through controlled affiliates, operates a vertically integrated pediatric healthcare delivery system located in Fort Worth, Texas. The delivery system includes a full-service pediatric hospital and outpatient ambulatory care facilities, a multi-specialty physician group of primary care pediatricians and pediatric subspecialists, a home health care company, a health maintenance organization, and several other companies that enable the Health System to fulfill its mission. The hospital accounted for more than 86% of pediatric hospital admissions in its six-county primary service area.

This information and more can be found on the preliminary official statement. Below is a financial snapshot of Cook Children’s Foundation:

Provided above is a quick snapshot of financial characteristics of the Cook Children’s Health Foundation and its Subsidiaries , courtesy of Merritt Research Services, LLC. (Merritt believes the data to be reliable but does not make any representations as to its accuracy or completeness). In addition to the Merritt information related to the featured bond, more information can be found on our municipal bond calendarcity, state, and county pages.

These facts and numbers are for informational purposes, and should not be considered an official disclosure for potential investors. Investors should consult the official statement. None of the information provided should be construed as a recommendation by MuniNet Guide, MuniNet LLC, Merritt Research Services LLC, or any of their employees. Information and analysis is for informational purposes only.

Potential investors should rely only on the official documents and figures provided in the official statement (prospectus). Although the numbers presented in this summary are primarily derived from public documents, including issuer audits, issuer reports and other public sources such as federal reporting agencies , they are not intended to replace official information presented in connection with the bond sale. Medians may differ from official sales documents due to methodology or survey base variances.