Kasich to Privatize Ohio's Liquor Sales in $1.4 Billion Deal

Ohio governor John Kasich and his administration have crafted an agreement that would privatize the state's lucrative liquor distributions system for $1.4 billion through a newly created private nonprofit entity that will utilize the revenue for economic development.

The nonprofit organization, JobsOhio, will issue up to $1.5 billion of bonds to finance the 25-year deal. The bond sale is anticipated to occur within the first quarter, and JobsOhio officials say that they've already assembled a finance team that will bring the bonds to market.

Kasich claims that privatizing liquor sales will provide a steady revenue stream of $200 million annually that JobsOhio will then use to finance job creation and economic development projects. Kasich created JobsOhio when he took office last year.

The liquor lease is perhaps the highest profile of the governor's privatization proposals, and is one his keys to balancing Ohio's current $55.5 billion, two year general budget.

The deal is expected to close after the bond sale later this quarter.