Upcoming week crowded with new issues; Florida Board of Education to bring $615.4 million in bonds

By Cristal Cody and Sheri Kasprzak

New York, Feb. 8 - Issuers are back out in force with billions of dollars in offerings on the table for the coming week.

The issuers are eager to get their projects done, a sell-side source told Prospect News Friday, and that may be the biggest factor in the push for new deals.

"They've got things they need to do with that money, so they're going ahead with their offerings," he said.

"Sometimes, your bottom line is doing what you have to do to get your projects completed in a timely manner."

One issuer contacted Friday agreed.

John Markley, interim assistant superintendent of business and operations for the Plainfield Community Consolidated School District in Illinois said the state of the financial markets was the least of its concerns for moving ahead with a $70 million offering of bonds.

"They're being done because we have projects that need to be completed," Markley said.

"In 2006, the district passed a $252 million referendum. We sold $91 million in bonds and constructed three elementary schools and a high school, and now we need to construct more buildings."

Those buildings will be built within the next year, Markley added.

Plainfield's bonds are expected to price Monday and Markley said his financial advisors have indicated that the coupon could come in around 3% to 3.5%.

The bonds, which will have a serial structure from 2009 to 2028, were tentatively rated A by Standard & Poor's, Markley said.

Proceeds will be used for an addition to the high school, roof replacements at the elementary school's building, a new elementary school building, road improvements for Plainfield High School South and the possible construction of a transportation facility, Markley said.

Florida BoE brings $614.5 million

The offering is one of several deals coming up, including two rather sizable deals from the Florida Board of Education.

The board plans to price $315.4 million in series 2008A State Board of Education lottery revenue bonds and $300 million in series 2007C public education capital outlay bonds sometime in the Feb. 11.

No exact pricing date has been set, according to a source familiar with the bonds.

The bonds (AA+) will price on a competitive basis.

Proceeds will be used for school construction and renovation, as well as other capital outlay projects.

Another large deal comes from Pima County in Arizona, which plans to price $100 million in general obligation bonds on Tuesday.

The bonds will be sold on a competitive basis and were rated Aa3 on Friday by Moody's Investors Service.

Proceeds from the deal will be used to finance the county's capital improvement plan, according to a Moody's report released Friday.

Port Arthur school bonds to price

The Port Arthur Independent School District out of Texas plans to move forward with its $65 million offering of unlimited tax school building bonds on Monday.

The offering had been postponed due to rough market conditions, a source familiar with the deal told Prospect News Friday. The bonds were originally set to price Jan. 23.

The bonds (A3/A/A-) will be sold on a negotiated basis through lead manager Dain Rauscher Inc.

The proceeds will be used for the construction and equipment of school buildings, as well as the renovation of existing facilities.

Oregon Housing and Community Services also has a deal in the works. The agency plans to price $70 million in single-family housing revenue bonds on Wednesday.

The bonds (Aa2) will be sold on a negotiated basis, but the lead manager could not be determined by press time Friday.

Proceeds will be used for single-family mortgage loans within the state of Oregon.

Also pricing single-family housing revenue bonds is the Nebraska Investment Finance Authority. The authority plans to price $50 million in bonds on Feb. 14.

Series 2008 A fixed-rate bonds ($25 million) mature 2009 to 2018 with term bonds in 2028 and 2039. Series 2008 B floating rate bonds mature in 2038.

"We meet once a week and look at the stats. We met this week and it's looking pretty good, so we'll think we'll have a reasonable sale," said Judy Krasomil, the authority's treasurer.

"We usually do $100 million deals, but scaled it down because of all the volatility going on right now."

Lehman Brothers is the senior manager.

Proceeds will be used to refund prior series bonds and to purchase and finance mortgage loans and mortgage-backed securities in Nebraska.

Houston Community College plans bonds

Elsewhere, Houston Community College will bring $55 million in series 2008 maintenance tax notes on Tuesday.

The notes were rated AA this week by Fitch and will be sold on a negotiated basis.

The notes will be sold in a serial structure from 2009 to 2027 and the proceeds will be used to renovate and equip existing facilities.

No additional information was immediately available about the bonds.

In other upcoming pricing news, Yonkers, N.Y., will price $54 million in general obligation and school bonds Wednesday.

The bonds (Baa2/A2) are FSA insured and have a serial structure from 2009 to 2025 and a term bond due 2030.

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

No additional information was available on the bonds by press time Friday.

New York LGAC plans big deal

On the horizon, the New York Local Government Assistance Corp. is planning to bring $385.05 million in series 2008A refunding bonds on Feb. 20, a preliminary official statement said Friday.

The bonds will be sold on a competitive basis, the official statement said, and will have maturities from 2009 to 2021.

Public Resources Advisory Group is the financial advisor for the corporation.

Proceeds will be used to refund the corporation's outstanding series 1996A, series 1997A and series 1997B bonds.

Fort Lauderdale bonds

Fort Lauderdale, Fla., said Friday that its Feb. 21 sale of $155 million water and sewer revenue bonds will be by competitive bidding.

The series 2008 bonds (Aa2) will have 30-year maturities, city spokesman Matt Little said. The preliminary official statement on the bonds should be released next week, he said.

The city's financial advisor is Fidelity Financial Services, L.C.

Proceeds will be used for a variety of projects, including improvements to the system's two water treatment plants.

Tufts University bonds

Looking ahead to March, the Massachusetts Health and Educational Facilities Authority expects to price $59.775 million revenue bonds for Tufts University on March 6, according to the preliminary official statement released Friday.

The series 2008 M bonds are rated Aa2 by Moody's Investors Service and AA- by Standard & Poor's.

Lehman Brothers is the underwriter for the negotiated sale. Maturities have not been set, according to the statement.

Proceeds will be used to refund the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency series H revenue bonds.

Additional information was not available.

Chicago notes

In other deals coming up, Chicago plans to price $70.425 million general obligation tender notes that mature Feb. 19, 2010, according to the preliminary official statement.

The series 2008 notes will bear interest as a short-term intermediate rate.

UBS Investment Bank is the lead underwriter.

Proceeds will be used for Chicago Public Library operation and building funds.

Additional information was not available before press time.

Pasadena, Texas, bringing bonds

Pasadena, Texas, confirmed Friday that it expects to price $55.4 million waterworks and sewer system revenue bonds Feb. 19.

The city has applied for municipal bond insurance through the bidder option program.

The series 2008 bonds are being sold as a competitive issue, said Wayne Long, city controller for the budget and finance office.

RBC Capital Markets is the financial advisor.

The bonds have serial maturities from 2010 through 2033.

Proceeds will be used to purchase additional ownership in Houston's southeast water treatment plant and for local projects, Long said.

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