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Yahoo
31 minutes ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Palm Beach Housing Crunch Spurs $236 Million Muni Deal for Dorms
(Bloomberg) -- Student housing is so tight at Palm Beach Atlantic University that some applicants have chosen not to enroll. A $235.8 million high-yield bond deal is the school's bet to reverse that trend. Where the Wild Children's Museums Are Billionaire Steve Cohen Wants NY to Expand Taxpayer-Backed Ferry The Economic Benefits of Paying Workers to Move At London's New Design Museum, Visitors Get Hands-On Access LA City Council Passes Budget That Trims Police, Fire Spending Palm Beach County will issue the muni bonds on behalf of an arm of Provident Resources Group, an organization that specializes in student housing. Proceeds of the debt will finance the construction of roughly 275 housing units with 990 beds at the Christian college in West Palm Beach, Florida. The deal includes $212.7 million in senior revenue bonds and $23.1 million in subordinate bonds. Both series will include securities with a 40-year tenor, reaching maturity in 2065, according to preliminary offering documents. The debt is expected to price on June 4, and proceeds will fund student housing and a suite of campus amenities, including a dining hall, a health and recreational center with cardio and circuit floors, a weight room and a golf simulator. The project also includes a nine-story parking garage with 740 spaces for students, faculty and staff. Palm Beach Atlantic is investing $9 million of its own funds at the start of the project. Construction begins in June and is expected to wrap between July and August of 2027, according to bond documents. Gilbane Development Company is the real estate developer, while Gilbane Building Company will be handling the construction. JPMorgan is underwriting the deal. An entity associated with Provident will repay the bonds using lease payments from the university tied to the dining, parking and wellness facilities. Rent from students will back the housing portion. 'Blending those two together gets you a stronger projection and the ability to more accurately project cash flows for the long haul,' said Provident President Chris Hicks. Enrollment Pressures Palm Beach Atlantic University was founded in 1968 as a Christian liberal arts college. Full-time undergraduates between the ages of 17 and 20 are generally required to live on campus. But applicants unable to secure housing often withdraw, a challenge the university expects to intensify under a new policy taking effect this fall that raises the on-campus housing requirement to 21, offering documents say. 'There is a significant growth among enrollment at Southern schools, and you can't grow enrollment unless you have a place to put these kids,' said Jennifer Johnston, a senior vice president at Franklin Templeton. 'We're definitely seeing an increase in student housing balances in general.' Palm Beach Atlantic has seen a more than 500% increase in undergraduate applications since 2019, according to bond documents. Competition among universities is also fueling the debt boom. 'You need to have nice facilities, and that's what's driven up so much of this debt issuance for universities in general,' Johnston added. The university currently leases off-campus beds, but that hasn't been enough to meet demand. For the 2025-2026 academic year, it anticipates a shortfall of 456 beds, per the bond documents. Following the construction of the new residence project, undergraduate housing capacity is set to increase by 41%, about 2,217 beds. Many off-campus options are either too costly or require students to share a bedroom. That problem may worsen as rents in West Palm Beach rise. 'There's no such thing in West Palm Beach as cost-effective housing,' Hicks said. As of February 2025, the average rent in the city stood at $2,063, up from $1,972 in April 2024, according to bond documents. The new dormitory's per-bed rent is expected to average $1,152 a month, based on a 12-month lease. For the 2027-2028 academic year, rents for the new units range from $7,752 for a two-bedroom apartment to $8,232 for a unit with an ocean view, per semester. Ratings View Fitch Ratings assigned a BB+ rating to the senior bonds, noting that while the new facilities will enhance student life, their success hinges on continued enrollment momentum, analysts led by Seth Lehman wrote in the report. 'The project has a lot of debt and only a small amount of upfront contributions from the university,' Lehman said in an interview. 'It's a highly leveraged project.' Even so, the university reduces its financial exposure by having Provident as the borrower, he added. The dorms are expected to become a top choice among students. Palm Beach Atlantic University's debt is rated BBB+ by Fitch. The rating stems from the school's 'strategic transformation' from a commuter to a residential university with 'a more national appeal, maintaining its Christian-focused educational mission,' analysts led by Akiko Mitsui said in an April ratings report. The school is also well positioned to benefit from South Florida's evolving economy. As Wall Street firms move operations south, West Palm Beach has gained a reputation as 'Wall Street South,' bringing financial-sector jobs closer to campus. Between 2017 and 2022, a net of 30,000 New York City residents relocated to Florida's Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties, transferring $9.2 billion in income, according to the report released April by the Citizens Budget Commission, a nonpartisan fiscal watchdog. YouTube Is Swallowing TV Whole, and It's Coming for the Sitcom Millions of Americans Are Obsessed With This Japanese Barbecue Sauce Mark Zuckerberg Loves MAGA Now. Will MAGA Ever Love Him Back? Trump Considers Deporting Migrants to Rwanda After the UK Decides Not To Will Small Business Owners Knock Down Trump's Mighty Tariffs? ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
Forbes
2 hours ago
- Business
- Forbes
Mets Continue To Do More With Less As Starting Rotation Flourishes
The prevailing narrative is that the New York Mets, led by owner Steve Cohen, are successful because they are a financial behemoth. And yes, they do have the largest payroll in baseball, and they did steal Juan Soto from the crosstown rival Yankees for a satchel full of money last offseason. But it's been a whole lot more than dollars that has propelled the Mets to the 2024 NLCS and first place in the NL East thus far this season. The overperformance of their relatively inexpensive starting rotation has played a pivotal role as well. Since the departure of Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander by the 2023 trading deadline the Mets have taken a different approach to assembling a rotation. Their Plan A has often not quite worked out, primarily due to injury, but they have scrambled to formulate successful backup plans. In 2024, Luis Severino and Sean Manaea were their best starters in terms of both quantity and quality. Behind them Jose Quintana gave them bulk, while Tylor Megill and David Peterson showed flashes of excellence in smaller samples. Adrian Houser also got plenty of run, with far less success. They decided to forego the flash and big dollars at the top of the offseason free agent market, largely running it back, with Frankie Montas slated to replace Severino, who found greener financial pastures with the Athletics. Montas signed for two years, $34 million, Manaea re-signed for three years, $75 million, while Quintana left to join the Brewers. Sure, that's a hefty investment in starting pitching, but it's not exactly at the top of the market in terms of years or dollars. Plan A didn't pan out - both Montas and Manaea are sidelined with significant injuries. And as they did in 2024, the Mets' Plan B is not just working out, it's paying massive dividends. If anything, there's been an even greater windfall of success. Everyone agrees that the Phillies' starting rotation is a huge strength, right? When healthy, a Zack Wheeler/Aaron Nola/Cristopher Sanchez/Jesus Luzardo/Ranger Suarez rotation to absolutely fearsome. Well, the Phils' rotation has a 3.62 ERA this season, 5th best in the NL. That's way behind the Mets' group, which paces the league with an exceptional 2.91 mark. Kodai Senga, Megill, Clay Holmes, Peterson and Griffin Canning are taking the ball every fifth day, giving the club about six innings every time out, and are consistently keeping them in ballgames, or even better than that. The Mets' David Stearns-led front office and pitching coach Jeremy Hefner deserve a ton of credit. Holmes, like Soto, came over as a free agent from the Yankees, where he had been used as a short reliever. Canning was a last minute spring free agent pickup after the Montas/Manaea injuries opened a spot. Both traditional metrics like ERA- and FIP- and my batted ball-based 'Tru' ERA- pronounced Mets' starters as about league average in 2024, with Severino (90 'Tru'-), Manaea (93), Megill (94) and Peterson (99) the best of the lot. What all of those guys have in common are quality fastballs that they use quite often. According to my pitch grades based on bat-missing and contact management relative to the league, Severino had an 'A' four-seamer and a 'B+' sinker last season, while Manaea had an 'A' sinker and a 'B+' four-seamer. It's too early to be tossing around pitch grades this season, but Megill (63.9% fastball usage) and Peterson (52.0%) are having success throwing an awful lot of fastballs. Canning is a very interesting case. Arguably the worst ERA title-qualifying starter in the game in 2024, he's suddenly morphed into a ground ball pitcher in his first year with the Mets. His 52.6% grounder rate is 9.9% higher than his previous career high. He's still the least exciting member of this rotation, but league average is a big step up for him. And the return of Senga has been huge. Limited to 5 1/3 innings by injury in 2024, he's back and throwing his lethal forkball quite often. His strikeout rate is way down, but has throttling contact of all types, emerging as the only truly exceptional contact manager in the Met rotation. Put it all together and the Mets are paying just under a combined $40 million in 2025 for their current rotation, excluding Montas and Manaea. Their pitcher-friendly home park has helped them, as has the relatively cool early season weather, but this group has been one of the under the radar success stories of the 2025 season to date. Adjusted for exit speed/launch angle, all five members have been at least a bit fortunate to date. Each has an actual, Unadjusted Contact Score lower than their adjusted mark (78 to 98 for Holmes, 95 to 105 for Canning, 102 to 110 for Megill, 86 to 102 for Peterson, 73 to 80 for Senga). Add back the Ks and BBs, and their 'Tru' ERA- marks (93 for Holmes, 103 for Canning, 86 for Megill, 95 for Peterson, 80 for Senga) are as high or higher than the worse of each pitcher's ERA- and FIP-. Put another way, there's some regression coming. Canning, as previously stated, is still just OK, Holmes and Peterson's mainstream numbers are most out of whack, and Senga's 13.0% liner rate allowed is going up for sure. And hopefully Senga's arm can withstand a steady diet of forkballs. But one borderline ace (Senga), three #3-ish guys (including one with upside in Megill) and an innings guy (Canning) will do just fine. Money is a big part of the Mets' success, to be sure - heck, even throwing a few more million at Canning after a couple other options didn't pan out is a type of luxury that many other teams can't or won't afford. But getting the best out of what you've got is a big deal too, and this Mets' regime is proving quite adept at that aspect of the game.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Diamondback's Viper Energy to Buy Sitio in $4.1 Billion Deal
(Bloomberg) -- Viper Energy Inc., the mineral and royalty unit of Diamondback Energy Inc., agreed to buy Sitio Royalties Corp. for about $4.1 billion, including debt, in the latest deal focused on the Permian Basin. Where the Wild Children's Museums Are Billionaire Steve Cohen Wants NY to Expand Taxpayer-Backed Ferry The Economic Benefits of Paying Workers to Move At London's New Design Museum, Visitors Get Hands-On Access LA City Council Passes Budget That Trims Police, Fire Spending The all-stock deal will consist of 0.4855 shares of Class A common stock of a new holding company for each share of Sitio's Class A common stock, and 0.4855 units of Viper's operating subsidiary, Viper Energy Partners, for each unit of Sitio's operating subsidiary. Diamondback is expected to own approximately 41% of Viper after the closing, according to a statement Tuesday. Viper was formed by Diamondback to focus on owning and acquiring mineral and royalty interests in oil-weighted basins, primarily the Permian Basin. Denver-based Sitio focuses on investing in mineral and royalty interests in oil basins, with about 34,300 net royalty acres acquired through more than 200 acquisitions. YouTube Is Swallowing TV Whole, and It's Coming for the Sitcom Millions of Americans Are Obsessed With This Japanese Barbecue Sauce Mark Zuckerberg Loves MAGA Now. Will MAGA Ever Love Him Back? Trump Considers Deporting Migrants to Rwanda After the UK Decides Not To Will Small Business Owners Knock Down Trump's Mighty Tariffs? ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Diamondback's Viper Energy to Buy Sitio in $4.1 Billion Deal
(Bloomberg) -- Viper Energy Inc., the mineral and royalty unit of Diamondback Energy Inc., agreed to buy Sitio Royalties Corp. for about $4.1 billion, including debt, in the latest deal focused on the Permian Basin. Where the Wild Children's Museums Are Billionaire Steve Cohen Wants NY to Expand Taxpayer-Backed Ferry The Economic Benefits of Paying Workers to Move At London's New Design Museum, Visitors Get Hands-On Access LA City Council Passes Budget That Trims Police, Fire Spending The all-stock deal will consist of 0.4855 shares of Class A common stock of a new holding company for each share of Sitio's Class A common stock, and 0.4855 units of Viper's operating subsidiary, Viper Energy Partners, for each unit of Sitio's operating subsidiary. Diamondback is expected to own approximately 41% of Viper after the closing, according to a statement Tuesday. Viper was formed by Diamondback to focus on owning and acquiring mineral and royalty interests in oil-weighted basins, primarily the Permian Basin. Denver-based Sitio focuses on investing in mineral and royalty interests in oil basins, with about 34,300 net royalty acres acquired through more than 200 acquisitions. YouTube Is Swallowing TV Whole, and It's Coming for the Sitcom Millions of Americans Are Obsessed With This Japanese Barbecue Sauce Mark Zuckerberg Loves MAGA Now. Will MAGA Ever Love Him Back? Trump Considers Deporting Migrants to Rwanda After the UK Decides Not To Will Small Business Owners Knock Down Trump's Mighty Tariffs? ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Errore nel recupero dei dati Effettua l'accesso per consultare il tuo portafoglio Errore nel recupero dei dati Errore nel recupero dei dati Errore nel recupero dei dati Errore nel recupero dei dati
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
JPMorgan Banker Warns of Silicon Valley Trap for Clean Tech
(Bloomberg) -- The venture capital model honed and perfected in Silicon Valley is proving a bad fit for the clean tech industry, and investors should instead accept that they'll need to commit much bigger sums of money for longer periods of time. Where the Wild Children's Museums Are Billionaire Steve Cohen Wants NY to Expand Taxpayer-Backed Ferry The Economic Benefits of Paying Workers to Move At London's New Design Museum, Visitors Get Hands-On Access LA City Council Passes Budget That Trims Police, Fire Spending 'In traditional VC, the model is to make 100 bets, 90 of which will completely fail, and of the 10 remaining maybe a couple will have real exponential growth,' JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s Rama Variankaval said in an interview. However, 'the amount of capital you'd need to replicate that in climate is enormous, so you might need to accept a revised model where you are picking fewer, more concentrated bets.' The warning from Variankaval, whose role as global head of corporate advisory includes running JPMorgan's Center for Carbon Transition, has serious implications for the trajectory of climate change. More than $200 trillion needs to be invested in the transition to net zero over the next three decades to avoid catastrophic temperature rises, BloombergNEF estimates. Spending last year, meanwhile, was just over $2 trillion. Most of the money — both public and private — flowing into the low-carbon transition is going toward electrified transport, renewable energy and power grids, BNEF's analysis shows. Those are capital-intensive sectors that require committed capital. That's in contrast to the 'asset-light businesses' to which venture capital is best suited, Variankaval said. 'If you are investing in a software business and you put in $10 million, the need for additional capital from this company might not be high,' Variankaval said. 'But $10 million in a climate tech company doesn't get you a whole lot of runway.' Of the $270 billion of energy transition-focused private capital raised between 2017 and 2022, venture capital accounted for $120 billion, or 43%, while private equity and infrastructure-focused funds raised $100 billion, or 37%, according to a September 2023 report by S2G, a firm that focuses on venture and growth-stage businesses. Fresh examples include climate tech investment firm Energize Capital, which just raised $430 million for a new fund targeting early-stage startups working on projects like new batteries and software for the electric grid. Clean tech was particularly vulnerable to the rapid surge in interest rates that started in early 2022, with much of the capital-intensive green sector brought to its knees in the period that followed. Over the past three years, the S&P Global Clean Energy Transition Index has lost almost 40% of its value, compared with a gain of more than 40% in the S&P 500 Index. 'The problem is investors are very segmented,' Variankaval said. 'Different investor groups have different risk-reward preferences, and for the most part a lot of the transition theme falls in the gap between various pockets of capital,' in what's known as 'the missing middle.' Other banks have offered similar warnings. Barclays Plc, which has called on the UK government to address the funding challenge facing companies in low-carbon industries, said in a recent report that climate tech companies face 'a longer and riskier path to profitability' because they tend to be 'capital expenditure-intensive, with high upfront investments required in plant and equipment.' It's clear 'what success looks like,' Variankaval said. 'It's project finance, it's infrastructure. That's where we need to get to, because that's the right cost of capital for a lot of these projects and companies.' Meanwhile, the Trump administration has made a point of withdrawing support from clean energy and instead doubling down on fossil fuels. Though the approach has angered many climate investors, Variankaval suggests it has also helped clarify which technologies have the most potential. The sense now is that 'winners and losers have been more directly identified,' he said. 'It seems like nuclear and geothermal might be more in the winner camp and things like hydrogen might not be. In a way, that helps investors to say, 'Okay I feel like I can have a bit more focus and I know policy support will continue for these couple technologies'.' Demand for nuclear energy was underscored on Tuesday, with an announcement that Meta Platforms Inc. has entered a deal to buy power from Constellation Energy Corp. The agreement marks the latest example of Big Tech tapping an energy form that's available around the clock and that doesn't release greenhouse-gas emissions. There are also some green technologies 'that we can see will continue to have quite solid policy support, maybe even increased support,' Variankaval said. 'In some ways, that's helpful because you're focusing now on maybe two or three things.' The bottom line, though, is that 'climate risk is real,' Variankaval said. 'You're living with the consequences every day, and it's a problem that has negative consequences if left unaddressed. That story does not change in my mind because of either economic cycles or political cycles.' (Adds references to Meta purchase of power from Constellation, and Energize VC fund.) YouTube Is Swallowing TV Whole, and It's Coming for the Sitcom Millions of Americans Are Obsessed With This Japanese Barbecue Sauce Mark Zuckerberg Loves MAGA Now. Will MAGA Ever Love Him Back? Trump Considers Deporting Migrants to Rwanda After the UK Decides Not To Will Small Business Owners Knock Down Trump's Mighty Tariffs? ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
