Our Company
Press RoomPress Release
FSA Will Guarantee PFI Financing to Rebuild Two Hospitals Near Liverpool
NOT FOR RELEASE OR DISTRIBUTION IN THE UNITED STATES, CANADA OR JAPAN
London, June 1, 2006 - Financial Security Assurance (FSA) will guarantee up to £178.3 million (including variation bonds) of 41-year senior amortizing index-linked bonds and £149.2 million of 32-year amortizing index-linked European Investment Bank debt to finance a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) project of St. Helens and Knowsley Hospital Services NHS Trust. The issuer of the bonds, NewHospitals (St. Helens and Knowsley) Finance PLC, is a financing affiliate of NewHospitals (St. Helens and Knowsley) Limited, which holds a PFI concession to design and build new hospital facilities, refurbish existing facilities and provide ongoing facilities management services through September 2047 at the trust's two main sites, which are located in the Liverpool suburbs of St Helens and Whiston. Barclays Capital and Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein were joint lead managers for the financing.
"The financial markets continue to rely on monoline guarantees to provide the most efficient execution for the vast majority of PFI capital market financings," said director Douglas Segars of FSA's International Infrastructure Finance group. "For St. Helens, the financial guaranty broadened market access and provided structuring flexibility." FSA-insured debt is rated Triple-A based on FSA's guaranty of timely payment of principal and interest as scheduled.
NewHospitals (St. Helens and Knowsley) Limited is a special purpose project company owned by Taylor Woodrow Construction Limited and Innisfree PFI Fund III Limited Partnership. The majority of the existing facilities at both hospital sites will be demolished and replaced with new facilities that comprise a diagnostic and outpatient treatment center at St Helens and an acute care hospital facility at Whiston.
About FSA
Financial Security Assurance Holdings Ltd. (FSA Holdings) is a New York-headquartered holding company whose subsidiaries provide financial guarantees in both the public and private sectors around the world. Its principal operating subsidiary, Financial Security Assurance Inc., is a leading guarantor of municipal bonds, infrastructure financings and asset-backed securities. Financial Security Assurance (U.K.) Limited is a U.K.-licensed subsidiary of Financial Security Assurance Inc. Guarantees issued by these subsidiaries carry the highest ratings available, from Fitch Ratings, Moody's Investors Service, Inc., Standard & Poor's Ratings Services and Rating and Investment Information, Inc. FSA Holdings is a member of the Dexia group, the world leader in public finance. For additional information, visit www.fsa.com.
THIS PRESS RELEASE IS NOT AN OFFER FOR SALE IN THE UNITED STATES. SECURITIES MAY NOT BE OFFERED OR SOLD IN THE UNITED STATES ABSENT REGISTRATION OR AN EXEMPTION FROM REGISTRATION UNDER THE U.S. SECURITIES ACT OF 1933