Express Scripts seeks $63M in bonds for NorthPark expansion
St. Louis Business Journal
November 9, 2010
By Kelsey Volkmann
St. Louis pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts is seeking $63 million in bonds from St. Louis County for an expansion at NorthPark.
If the deal goes through, the company would add at least 150 new jobs and build a 225,000-square-foot facility and technology center at North Hanley Road and Evans Avenue across Interstate 70 from the company's headquarters.
The St. Louis County Economic Council submitted a request on behalf of Express Scripts to the St. Louis County Council for an incentives package that includes $43 million in "taxable redevelopment leasehold revenue bonds" and $20 million in "taxable industrial revenue bonds." The county council will consider the measure at tonight's meeting. The incentives would provide 50 percent reduction in real and personal property taxes for 10 years, according to county officials.
The aid package would also help Express Scripts retain 1,300 existing jobs here, county officials have said. Retained jobs earn about $40,500 annually, and the new jobs would generate an average salary of about $60,000 a year, county officials said.
Express Scripts said it has not committed to the local expansion just yet. The company "is exploring options for increasing efficiencies by consolidating operational functions now performed at multiple sites," spokesman Thom Gross said. "It is too early in the process, however, for us to comment on any specifics."
The company has said its final decision would be based on the county's incentive package and a package of incentives it submitted to the Missouri Department of Economic Development and Missouri Development Finance Board.
Last month, Express Scripts announced plans to shut down its dispensing pharmacy facility in Bensalem, Pa., on Dec. 16 and lay off 365 employees. The company also plans to consolidate and outsource some call center functions in Ohio and Minnesota, affecting 138 more workers.
Earlier this month, Express Scripts said its profit soared more than 53 percent in the third quarter to $301.5 million, compared with $197.6 million a year ago, as the company continues to benefit from its $4.7 billion acquisition of NextRx from WellPoint.
The company (Nasdaq: ESRX), led by Chairman, President and Chief Executive George Paz, said revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 doubled to $11.2 billion, from $5.6 billion a year earlier.
