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.
