Fortress-Backed Rail Gets Nod to Sell $1 Billion of Muni Debt
- Florida agency approves Brightline’s request to fund expansion
- Service resumed last month after suspended since March 2020
Photographer: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Brightline Holdings, the train company backed by Fortress Investment Group, on Friday won the authority to sell $1 billion of tax-exempt private activity bonds to finance an extension of its Florida line that would quadruple its current operating length.
The decision by the board of the Florida Development Finance Corp., the municipal agency that gives private entities access to low-cost financing, clears the way for the company to first issue short-term escrowed debt this month, which won’t be based on the project’s risks. The company will then remarket the securities after going back to the board for final approval. That offering will test investors’ faith in the passenger railroad, which will extend operations to Tampa from Miami for a total of 320 miles (515 kilometers).