Behind the Deal: ASTEC Charter Schools
The First Publicly Offered, and Largest Ever Charter School Transaction in Oklahoma
In 2000, ASTEC Charter Schools began its operations and became the first “start-up” charter school in Oklahoma serving 100 sixth and seventh-grade scholars and five employees. The school has grown its operations to serve more than 1,000+ scholars and 75 employees. This tuition-free public school, open to students ranging from pre-K to 12 located in the heart of Oklahoma City combines science, technology, engineering, the arts, and math (S.T.E.A.M.) in a standard, state-approved curriculum. ASTEC needed to 1) refinance an existing interim loan used for land acquisition and financing construction of its elementary school and 2) fund the construction of a new middle and high school building, a new elementary school wing, administrative space, auditorium, gym, and related improvements to continue their mission, “empower, motivate and inspire learners to reach their highest potential.” Within the next few years and after completion of the 2024 Bond projects, ASTEC plans to operate its entire K-12 school on a single campus.
Baird’s National Charter School Finance team served as sole managing underwriter on the non-rated $64,325,000 transaction for ASTEC Charter Schools. This was the first publicly offered, and largest ever charter school transaction in the state of Oklahoma. Baird implemented an expedited pre-marketing process of only 9 days between offering document posting and the bond sale date to take advantage of a positive tone in the bond market. The Baird banking team worked efficiently to answer investor questions about ASTEC and the 2024 Bond projects, resulting in extremely strong reception on the day of the bond sale. Baird aggressively repriced the bonds 15 to 20 basis points (0.15% to 0.20%) lower after realizing strong demand during order period of the bond sale, resulting in a lower cost of borrowing for ASTEC Charter Schools. Interest rates trended higher and the bond market tone weakened in the days following the bond sale, further emphasizing the importance of Baird’s recommendation to accelerate the bond sale process. At the end of the bond sale, the transaction realized participation from more than 15 unique institutional investors.
