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Tampa General Hospital (“TGH”)

Tampa General Hospital

The Situation

TGH is a private not-for-profit hospital and one of the most comprehensive medical facilities in West Central Florida serving a dozen counties with a population in excess of four million. As one of the largest hospitals in Florida, TGH is licensed for 1,011 beds, and with approximately 7,300 employees, is one of the region’s largest employers. TGH is the primary teaching affiliate of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and over 300 residents are assigned to TGH for specialty training in areas ranging from general internal medicine to neurosurgery.

TGH is the area’s only Level I trauma center and one of just three burn centers in Florida. As the region’s leading safety net hospital, TGH is committed to providing area residents with excellent and compassionate healthcare ranging from the simplest to the most complex medical services.

The Challenge

TGH, with assistance from its financial advisor Hamlin Capital Advisors (“HCA” or “Hamlin”), continually examines its capital structure to extract interest cost savings wherever possible. At the end of 2015, the $185,000,000 Series 2006 bonds, with a call date in October 2016, provided an opportunity to advance refund for attractive interest savings. Although the traditional fixed rate markets did generate some savings, the savings associated with a bank placement were significantly higher. HCA ran an efficient and focused competitive RFP process with the goal to put in place low-cost 15-year financing with terms and covenants consistent with TGH’s existing fixed rate debt.

The Hamlin Solution

HCA aggressively positioned TGH so as to not allow for the inclusion of several typical bank covenants that would restrict the hospital from executing on future tactical and strategic plans. Significant debt service savings were achieved by securing an attractive long-term (15 years), low-cost financing commitment from one banking institution for the entire refunding amount.