Allegheny Health Network today announced the closing of $1B in bond financing, its first ever public tax-exempt financing. Allegheny Health Network owns and operates seven hospitals in western Pennsylvania as well as Westfield Memorial Hospital in Westfield, NY, and provides patients with access to a range of advanced medical services, including primary and emergency care, cardiovascular disease, cancer care, orthopedic surgery, neurology and neurosurgery, women's health, diabetes and more. The proceeds of the 2018 bonds will be used to refund existing debt. Allegheny Health Network is the health care provider system of Highmark Health.
Underwritten by Citigroup Global Markets Inc., BofA Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated and PNC Capital Markets LLC, the issuance is comprised of serial and term bonds due at various dates through April 1, 2047. The bonds were assigned an "A" credit rating with a stable outlook, based on a group rating by Standard & Poor's. The issuance was significantly oversubscribed and involved many of the largest institutional investors. Neither Highmark Health nor Highmark Inc. is obligated with respect to the bonds.
"We are grateful that the investor community has validated Highmark Health's Integrated Delivery and Financing Strategy and our ability to improve the operating efficiency and financial performance of Allegheny Health Network over the past several years," said Karen Hanlon, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Highmark Health. "Securing a long term and stable capital structure for Allegheny Health Network has multiple benefits for the health care provider, including predictable, long-term annual debt service requirements. This is another critical step in enabling us to deliver on our promise of building an integrated payor/provider model that will deliver high-quality, low-cost health care to our members and customers."
"The strategy we are following, combined with our growing market breadth and depth, has resulted in financial and operational improvements for our integrated delivery and financing system and for AHN in particular," added Jeffrey Crudele, AHN's Chief Financial Officer. "The recent ground breakings for our new cancer centers, neighborhood hospitals and full-service Wexford Hospital, and the grand openings of other new facilities and programs across the region, are examples of that progress and of our commitment to a patient-centered, value-based health care model that meets the health needs of the communities we serve."
ABOUT ALLEGHENY HEALTH NETWORK:
Allegheny Health Network (AHN.org), a Highmark Health company, is an integrated healthcare delivery system serving the greater Western Pennsylvania region. The Network is composed of eight hospitals, including Allegheny General Hospital, its flagship academic medical center in Pittsburgh, Allegheny Valley Hospital in Natrona Heights, Canonsburg Hospital in Canonsburg, Forbes Hospital in Monroeville, Jefferson Hospital in Jefferson Hills, Saint Vincent Hospital in Erie, West Penn Hospital in Pittsburgh and Westfield Memorial Hospital in Westfield, NY. The Network provides patients with access to a complete spectrum of advanced medical services, including nationally recognized programs for primary and emergency care, cardiovascular disease, cancer care, orthopedic surgery, neurology and neurosurgery, women's health, diabetes and more. It also is home to a comprehensive research institute; Health + Wellness Pavilions; an employed physician organization, home and community based health services and a group purchasing organization. The Network employs approximately 19,000 people, has more than 2,400 physicians on its medical staff and serves as a clinical campus for Drexel University College of Medicine, Temple University School of Medicine, and the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine.
