Washington,
DC (May 15, 2008) – FOCUS LLC, a national middle
market investment banking firm serving the education industry,
announces the recent release of the Implementation Study
of the Credit Enhancement for Charter Schools Facilities
Program by the Department of Education. The
study was co-authored by G. William Bavin, currently a Managing
Director with FOCUS, LLC and it’s Education Banking
Team Leader. The research study was led by Ken Temkin,
Ph.D. of Maryland-based Optimal Solutions Group, a public
policy research firm.
Many charter schools face a similar critical problem – lack
of suitable school facilities and the inability to obtain
financing to secure appropriate facilities. To address
this problem, the U.S. Department of Education established
the Credit Enhancement for Charter School Facilities Program
in 2001. The program makes competitive grants to eligible
public entities for the purpose of providing credit enhancements
for lenders. This is designed to absorb some of the
risk of making loans to charter schools and thus reduce the
cost of capital for charter school operators.
The study examined the implementation of the program during
the early years of its existence and documented loan activities
facilitated by the program. According to
Bill Bavin, “Our study found compelling support for
the effectiveness of the Credit Enhancement program, even
in the early years of its implementation.” Many
participants praise the program for providing capital market
access to school borrowers that might not normally have been
able to access these sources of financing.
.
The full report can be found at http://www.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/choice/charter-school-facilities/index.html.
About FOCUS LLC
FOCUS LLC provides a range of middle market investment banking
services with an emphasis on mergers, acquisitions, divestitures
and corporate finance. Headquartered in Washington, D.C.,
FOCUS has regional offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles
and San Francisco. FOCUS specializes in serving business
units with revenues in the $5-300 million range, serving
entrepreneurs, corporate owners and various types of investors
across a broad range of industries, throughout the U.S. and
worldwide. The Education Team consists of four senior
bankers, led by Managing Director Bill Bavin, who has provided
investment banking and consulting services to education companies
for more than fifteen years. For more information
on FOCUS, visit www.focusbankers.com/education. |
