Tuesday to bring host of pricing action; Banner Health of Arizona sells $917.86 million

By Sheri Kasprzak

New York, Aug. 25 - The calendar of sales is heating up even as summer is cooling down, and Tuesday is proving to be a very busy day for new issue action.

Leading the pack Tuesday is a $339.5 million sale of series 2008 water and sewer system revenue bonds from the city of Charlotte, N.C.

Another sizeable deal Tuesday will come from Bexar County, Texas, which plans to price $103.2 million in venue project revenue and revenue refunding bonds.

Also up for pricing Tuesday are offerings from the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia, Northwest Community Hospital in Illinois, the Palo Alto Unified School District in California, Utah's South Valley Sewer District and Forsyth County, N.C., to name a few.

"After Labor Day, everyone gets back down to business and things really pick back up," said one sellside source reached Monday afternoon.

"This week looks pretty good, but from what I've seen, the next few weeks are really going to be seriously packed with new stuff."

Meanwhile, the pricing terms emerged Monday for Banner Health of Arizona's $917.86 million sale of series 2008D revenue bonds, which were sold through the Arizona Health Facilities Authority.

The bonds (/AA-/AA-) priced Thursday and are due 2009 to 2027 with term bonds due 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032 and 2038.

The serials have coupons from 5% to 6%. The 2029 bonds have a 5.125% coupon to yield 5.45%; the 2030 bonds have a 6% coupon to yield 5.5%; the 2031 bonds have a 5.5% coupon to yield 5.55%; the 2032 bonds have a 5.375% coupon to yield 5.59%; and the 2038 bonds have a 5.5% coupon to yield 5.67%.

Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch were the senior managers.

Proceeds will be used for the purchase of Sun Health Boswell Hospital and Sun Health Del E. Webb Hospital from Sun Health Corp.

Maryland DOT prices $280 million

Elsewhere in pricing action, the Maryland Department of Transportation sold $280 million in series 2008 consolidated transportation bonds, according to an official statement released Monday.

The bonds (Aa2/AAA/AA) are due 2011 to 2023 with coupons from 3% to 5%.

Citigroup Global Markets was the lead manager for the negotiated sale.

Proceeds will be used for capital improvements under the department's Consolidated Transportation Program, which provides comprehensive planning and coordinating for the state's highway, transit, port and aviation activities.

Charlotte's $339.5 million deal

Moving back to Charlotte, N.C.'s planned sale of $339.5 million in series 2008 water and sewer system revenue bonds, the city plans to sell the bonds (Aa1/AAA/AAA) through senior manager Banc of America Securities.

Proceeds will be used to discharge the city's water and sewer commercial paper bond anticipation notes and to finance improvements to the utility system.

And in Bexar County's offering, the county will sell $103.2 million in venue project revenue and revenue refunding bonds Tuesday, according to a sellside source reached Monday.

The bonds (A2//A) will be sold on a negotiated basis with JPMorgan Securities as the senior manager.

Proceeds will be used to refund the county's outstanding venue project revenue bonds and to finance the construction and improvement of amateur sports projects and tourism projects.

Louisville Arena Authority sale

Looking a little farther ahead in the week, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority is expected to price its previously announced $343.767 million in series 2008 revenue bonds for the Louisville Arena Authority, said a sellside source close to the deal.

The bonds (//BBB-) will be sold through senior manager Goldman, Sachs & Co.

The sale includes $284.435 million in series 2008A1 fixed-rate bonds; $29.332 million in series 2008A2 capital appreciation bonds; $15.5 million in series 2008B fixed-rate bonds; and $14.4 million subordinated series 2008C fixed-rate bonds.

Proceeds will be used for the development and construction of the arena for the University of Louisville men's and women's basketball programs.

Massachusetts's $661.89 million G.O.s

A whopping $661.89 million sale of series 2008A general obligation bonds from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is on the calendar for Sept. 2, said a preliminary official statement released Monday.

The bonds (Aa2/AA/AA) will be sold through senior manager Citigroup Global Markets.

The bonds are due 2009 to 2028 with term bonds due 2033 and 2038.

Proceeds will be used to fund or reimburse the state of costs within the current capital spending plan. The remainder will refund the state's series 2008D-1 and series 2008D-2 auction-rate bonds.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.