Virgin Trains USA, formerly Brightline, has closed on $1.75 billion in private activity bonds (PABs) underwritten by Morgan Stanley and purchased by 67 different investors to help fund the company’s expansion from West Palm Beach, on the Florida East Coast Railway, to Orlando.
Virgin officials called it one of the largest (private activity bond) transactions to date.
On April 5, the Florida Development Finance Corporation, a state agency that supports economic development, approved $950 million in tax-exempt bonds, adding to the $1.75 billion in bonds it approved last year.
The construction project includes 170 miles of new track to an intermodal facility located in the new South Terminal at Orlando International Airport. Construction is expected to begin shortly, with completion slated for 2022.