MIAMI — Brightline Holdings has received clearance to sell up to $1 billion of tax-free debt to finance its expansion to Orlando, Bloomberg reports.
The board of the Florida Development Finance Corp. approved the financing Monday. Brightline, backed by Fortress Investment Group, expects to sell $785 million in short-term debt but could sell the full $1 billion.
In a meeting prior to the vote, Brightline Chief Financial Officer called the expansion to Orlando “the most critical component of our business model.” A memo from PFM Financial Advisors projects the completed project will allow Brightline to go from 1.29 million passengers and $39 million in revenue this year to 7.9 million passengers and $733 million in total revenue in 2025, with average fare for 2025 to average $29.30 thanks to the longer trips. That would be a 58% increase from the average for its current Miami-West Palm Beach service.
“We’ve made tremendous progress, achieving more than 80% completion on Brightline’s Orlando extension,” Brightline spokesmans Ben Porritt said in a statement to Bloomberg. “We appreciate the support of the FDFC board as we complete funding, as originally planned, for the remaining elements of the project.”
Brightline expects to start Orlando service in 2023. The company has previously sold $3.2 billion of tax-exempt debt to fund the expansion.
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