Ports authority issues revenue bonds

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The S.C. Ports Authority will receive $547 million from a bonds issuance, the largest in port history.

The proceeds of the bonds issuance will enable the port to finish construction of phase one of the Hugh K. Leatherman Sr. Terminal in North Charleston.

The proceeds for the Leatherman terminal, which total $422 million, will fund construction and delivery purchases, as well as the ports authority’s share of the Port Access Road, which will connect Interstate 26 to the new terminals.

The rest of the proceeds, totaling $125 million, will be used to refund portions of the port’s outstanding 2015 bonds.

The ports authority board approved the bond issuance earlier this year.

Ports CFO Phillip Padgett said the transaction will close Oct. 2, but the heavy lifting for the bonds issuance is done.

“We had a tight schedule, we had to make it,” Padgett said. “It went through a hurricane, and I’m just proud to say Oct. 2 was the close day all along, so nothing shifted there.”

Five of the 10 investors in the bonds are first-time investors in the port.

“We are incredibly pleased to have a successful bond issuance and very strong ratings, which reflect great confidence in SCPA’s capabilities, team and growth plans,” said ports authority President and CEO Jim Newsome in a news release.