Fundamental Advisors Provides $33.75M Financing to Dominican University New York

Private Municipal Bond Placement to Recapitalize University's Debt and Fund Nursing Program Improvements

NEW YORK, Feb. 6, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Fundamental Advisors ("Fundamental"), an established alternative asset manager focused on municipal, public purpose and community assets, in partnership with its municipal bond sourcing partner, V2 Municipal Capital ("V2MC"), today announced the completion of a $33,750,000 financing for Dominican University New York through the Rockland County Economic Assistance Corporation. 

Dominican University New York is an independent, four-year doctoral level liberal arts university, chartered by the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York, and fully accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. The University's 1,400 student body represents a diverse population and includes both campus residents and commuters. The University is recognized as a Hispanic-Serving Institution ("HSI") by Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities ("HACU"). Dominican University's campus is located in Rockland County, NY, 17 miles north of New York City and three miles north of Bergen County, NJ.

"As dedicated public purpose investors, we view this partnership with Dominican University New York as an opportunity to support the long-term growth trajectory of an established institution serving a diverse student population," said Laurence Gottlieb, Chairman and CEO of Fundamental. "Our partnership with V2MC has provided significant visibility across the higher education ecosystem, creating unique opportunities to partner with leading institutions such as Dominican University. We look forward to working closely with Manuel, Tony and the entire Dominican board for many years to come."

"We're excited to have completed our first majority financing with Fundamental, particularly with a transaction that is core to the firm's mission to support community and public purpose assets," said Charlie Visconsi, Co-Founder of V2MC. "The transaction presented a compelling opportunity to support a university serving a growing cohort of minority, first-generation college students, and we're excited to partner with Dominican University in this next phase."

The financing for Dominican University comprises $28,885,000 of tax-exempt bonds and $4,865,000 of taxable bonds. The proceeds will be used to recapitalize all of the University's outstanding debt and fund certain capital projects, including improvements for the University's nursing program.

"We are pleased to have completed this transaction to structure a bond issue that meets the University's needs," said Dr. Manuel Martinez, President, Dominican University New York. "Fundamental and V2MC took considerable time to visit our campus and meet with our leadership team to better understand Dominican's mission and purpose. We're confident they are the ideal long-term funding partner for our university."

"We had a great experience working with Fundamental Advisors and V2MC to refinance all of Dominican University's debt, including our tax-exempt bonds," said Tony Cipolla, Vice President for Financial Affairs and CFO, Dominican University New York. "We've worked collaboratively with the team over the last three months to efficiently close the financing with a structure and repayment schedule tailored to the University's specific needs. We look forward to a long and successful partnership as we continue to grow our offerings and maintain strong enrollment."

"At D.A. Davidson, we pride ourselves on providing high-level service and personalized attention to our borrower clients, and it was clear throughout this process that Fundamental and V2MC take a similar approach," said Dan Froehlich, Managing Director, D.A. Davidson & Co. "On the Dominican University transaction, Fundamental and V2MC worked closely with us over several months to structure a complex bond issue that refinanced three bank loans and four tax-exempt bond issues, while also providing new financing to expand the University's nursing program. The collaboration was critical to the success of the financing, and we're pleased to have delivered this critical solution for Dominican University."

D.A. Davidson & Co. served as the underwriter on the transaction and Frasca and Associates served as the University's Financial Advisor. Hawkins Delafield and Wood served as Bond Counsel, Nixon Peabody as Underwriter's Counsel, Harris Beach as Issuer's Counsel and Cozen O'Connor as Purchaser's Counsel.

About Fundamental Advisors 
Fundamental is an established alternative asset manager dedicated to municipal, public purpose and community assets. Founded in 2007, the firm is focused on targeting control-oriented investments in stressed and distressed assets or securities, financing the development or revitalization of public purpose or community assets, and acquiring undervalued securities in the secondary market. For more information, please visit www.Fundamental.com.

About V2 Municipal Capital
Founded by Charlie Visconsi and Ron Van Den Handel in July 2024, V2 Municipal Capital is an independent sourcing company for high-yield tax-exempt and taxable municipal bonds. V2MC seeks to provide structured capital solutions for municipal borrowers across four key sectors: health care, housing, education and infrastructure. For more information, please visit: www.v2mc.com.

Contacts

For Fundamental and V2 Municipal Capital
Jon Keehner / Madeline Jones
Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher
212-355-4449
[email protected]

For Dominican University New York 
Tony Cipolla
845-848-7814
[email protected] 

SOURCE Fundamental Advisors