Assured Guaranty commits up to $248 million to Brightline Florida restructuring

Assured Guaranty  has committed up to $248 million in financing tied to Brightline Florida’s restructuring, while saying that the operator responsible for bonds it insures has not filed for Chapter 11.

Brightline Trains Florida LLC, known as OpCo, remains outside the bankruptcy proceedings involving other Brightline Florida entities. Assured Guaranty said those filings do not change OpCo’s payment obligations on its insured senior bonds.

Under a restructuring support agreement subject to bankruptcy court approval, stakeholders plan to provide OpCo with $490 million in new capital after the other entities exit bankruptcy. Assured Guaranty has committed $70 million toward the senior debt portion. It has also agreed to provide up to $178 million of the $258 million in funding available to OpCo during the bankruptcy process; that funding is to be repaid upon exit.

Assured Guaranty insures slightly more than half of OpCo’s existing senior tax-exempt bonds and said it holds the majority debt voting position. OpCo will also offer senior bondholders an option to defer certain interest payments in exchange for a fee. Assured Guaranty said it will guarantee timely payment under the deferral for holders of its insured bonds who elect that option, while continuing to guarantee payment on the original schedule for those who do not.