(Bloomberg) -- An elite private high school in Newport Beach, California, the home of bond-fund firm Pacific Investment Management Co., is making its own foray into the debt market.
The Sage Hill School, whose board of trustees includes executives from Pimco, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., and video-game maker Activision Blizzard Inc., is selling about $54 million of municipal bonds to build a middle school and new athletic facilities. The school said it’s the biggest capital project since it was founded.
Sage Hill is the latest California private school that’s turning to the public debt market to raise cash, joining the college-like push to keep luring new students with new amenities.
The Harvard-Westlake School made its muni market debut last month to pay for athletics facilities. In September, Palo Alto’s all-girls Castilleja School Foundation — in the heart of Silicon Valley — also borrowed for the first time to pay for extensive renovations.
Sage Hill, which opened in 2000, sits on a 28-acre campus in Newport Coast, a community in southern end of Newport Beach. Its newest project is expected to cost about $55 million and include a 38,600-square-foot building for its middle school classrooms, a competition-size gymnasium and administrative offices that’s slated to open in fall 2026.
Adding the new grades would boost enrollment — which hit a record high of 590 this year — by about 140 students. Average tuition at Sage Hill is about $54,000 a year and class sizes are capped at 14 students. The acceptance rate is now 55%.
“Today, at the strongest point in our short history, Sage Hill is embracing the opportunity to push forward,” Patricia Merz, head of school, said in a statement.
The school’s bonds are being sold through the California Enterprise Development Authority and are expected to price on Nov. 14, according to investor roadshow documents. S&P Global Ratings rates them A-, its seventh highest grade, citing “steady demand profile, experienced management team, positive operating results, and healthy liquidity.” The school had an endowment of $34 million at the end of June, according to the prospectus.
Proceeds of the debt offering will also be used to refinance a nearly $16 million bank loan from local F&M Bank. Separately, the school has plans to raise $25 million for the project and has brought in $15.6 million so far. The school has the option to redeem certain bonds with its fundraising proceeds starting in June 2026.
--With assistance from William Selway.
(Updates story with option to redeem bonds from fundraising proceeds in final paragraph. An earlier version corrected the date of large capital project in second paragraph.)
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