Municipals finish unchanged; Clark County, Nev., brings $800 million in two airport offerings

By Sheri Kasprzak

New York, Jan. 21 - Municipal yields were mostly flat after struggling with weakness earlier in the week. Meanwhile, Clark County in Nevada led primary action with two airport bond offerings totaling $800 million.

"There's really not a lot going on today," noted one trader reached during the afternoon.

"I'd call it unchanged. There's a sense of firmness out there, but yields are pretty flat."

Back to the Clark County deal, the county sold $450 million in series 2010A Las Vegas-McCarran International Airport passenger facility charge revenue bonds and $350 million in series 2010B subordinate lien revenue bonds.

The bonds (Aa2//A) were sold on a negotiated basis with Citigroup Global Markets Inc. as the lead manager.

The 2010A bonds are due 2013 to 2022 with term bonds due 2030, 2034, 2039 and 2042 and with coupons from 3% to 5.25%. The full pricing terms of the 2010A bonds were not available Thursday evening.

The 2010B bonds are due 2030, 2036 and 2042 with 5%, 5.125% and 5.75% coupons, respectively. All of the 2010B bonds were priced at par.

Proceeds will be used to fund airport improvements.

Louisiana foundation sells hospital bonds

Elsewhere during the day, the Louisiana Local Government Environmental Facilities and Community Development Foundation sold Thursday $319.52 million in series 2010 hospital revenue bonds for Woman's Hospital in Baton Rouge, said a pricing sheet.

The bonds (A3/BBB+/) were sold through Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

The sale included $233.14 million in series 2010A bonds and $86.38 million in series 2010B gulf opportunity zone project revenue bonds.

The 2010A bonds are due 2017 to 2020 with term bonds due 2025, 2030, 2040 and 2044. The serials have 5% coupons across the board. The 2025 bonds have a 5.5% coupon priced at 98.959, the 2030 bonds have a 5.625% coupon priced at 97.901, the 2040 bonds have a 5.875% coupon priced at 97.564, and the 2044 bonds have a 6% coupon priced at 97.85.

The 2010B bonds are due 2017 to 2020 with term bonds due 2025, 2030, 2040 and 2044. The coupons range from 4.5% to 6%.

Proceeds will be used to fund the construction of a five-story replacement hospital for Woman's Hospital.

Worcester Polytech bonds price

In other primary action, the Massachusetts Development Finance Authority sold $56 million in series 2010 revenue bonds for Worcester Polytechnic Institute Thursday, according to a term sheet.

The bonds (A1/A+/) were sold through Barclays Capital Inc.

The bonds are due 2035, 2040 and 2045. The coupons range from 4.5% to 5%.

Proceeds will be used to equip, furnish and construct a sports and recreation facility and related office facilities as well as renovate facilities at the institute, which is located in Worcester, Mass.

Puerto Rico, Illinois to bring billions

Looking ahead, two major offerings are expected in the near future. The largest comes from the Puerto Rico Sales Tax Financing Corp. The corporation plans to price $1.4 billion in series 2010A first subordinate sales tax revenue bonds, said a preliminary official statement.

The bonds (A2/A+/A) will be sold on a negotiated basis with Citigroup and Bank of America Merrill Lynch as the senior managers.

The sale includes current interest bonds, capital appreciation bonds and convertible capital appreciation bonds.

The current interest bonds are due 2015 to 2030 with term bonds due 2039 and 2042. The capital appreciation bonds are due 2031 to 2037. The convertible capital appreciation bonds are due 2029.

Proceeds will be used to fund capital projects.

The other major offering comes from the State of Illinois, which is set to sell $1 billion in series 2010-1 taxable general obligation Build America Bonds, said a preliminary official statement.

Barclays is the bookrunner for the bonds (A2/A+/A).

The bonds are due 2011 to 2020 with term bonds due 2022 and 2035.

Proceeds will be used to fund capital facilities and infrastructure projects.

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