Lewisville ISD's $87.75 million bonds price at 2.88% to 4.40%; Chicago O'Hare to bring $878 million

By Cristal Cody and Sheri Kasprzak

New York, Jan. 14 - The Lewisville Independent School District led a light day of pricing action Monday when it set terms on $87.745 million in bonds in a competitive offering.

The issue priced in a serial structure from 2011 through 2028, said John Martin with Southwestern Securities, the Texas school district's financial advisor.

The 2011 maturity priced with a coupon at 3.50% to yield 2.88% and the 2028 maturity priced with a 4.25% coupon to yield 4.40%, Martin said.

Martin said First Southwest Co. won the competitive bidding for the bonds.

Even though activity remained light on Monday, pricing will take off on Tuesday with at least seven major offerings in the pipeline.

Heading up those deals is a $766 million offering of general airport lien bonds from Chicago O'Hare Airport, as well as $112 million in passenger facility charge bonds from the airport.

The general airport lien bonds, which are FSA insured, are due in a serial structure from 2010 through 2028 and also include term bonds due 2033 and 2038. The offering also includes AMT bonds with serial maturities from 2010 through 2018 and term bonds due 2022, 2028 and 2038.

The passenger facility charge bonds have a serial structure from 2012 through 2016.

Fairfax bonds ready to price

Also set to price on Tuesday are $237.915 million in general obligation bonds from Virginia's Fairfax County and a source with the county told Prospect News Monday that the deal is all set to go.

Tanya Burrell with the county's finance office said Monday that the county is ready to bring the bonds, which will be sold on a competitive basis.

"We competitively bid, so we're just looking for the thing that's going to be the best overall," Burrell said when asked about coupon talk. "If, overall, it works exactly the way we want it, we're looking for whoever gives us the lowest [true interest cost]."

Looking ahead, Burrell said Fairfax County is planning a conduit debt issuance for its housing authority to redeem an old $40 million one-year note.

"The intent is to replace it with a longer-term bond anticipation note, possible a five-year note," Burrell added.

California HFA bonds price talk

Also set to price Tuesday is a $150 million offering from the California Housing Finance Agency and those bonds were sparking price talk on Monday afternoon.

A source familiar with the deal said he has heard the bonds will price at par.

The bonds will be sold in two tranches - the 2008A bonds include a serial structure from 2011 through 2018 and the 2008B bonds are term bonds due 2023, 2028 and 2041 (Aa2/AA-).

The source familiar with the bonds heard the A bonds will price somewhere in a range between 3.30% and 4.35% and had also heard the coupon for the 2028 term bond will come at 4.80%. The coupons for the 2028 and 2041 bonds were unknown Monday.

Goldman, Sachs & Co. is the lead manager.

Chino Basin bonds to price

Other deals coming up on Tuesday are $125 million in bonds from the Chino Basin Regional Financial Authority in California, $196.84 million in bonds set to price in four tranches from the Bon Secours Health Systems (Health Care-Hospital Virginia), $125 million in general obligation bonds from Nassau County in New York and $118.4 million in bonds from the Tennessee State School Bond Authority.

This last issue has a serial structure from May 2008 through 2038 and the financial advisor for the competitive deal is Public Financial Management in Memphis.

Proceeds from the serial bonds sale will be used to retire at maturity the principal of commercial paper issued for capital projects at several public higher education campuses in Tennessee, finance a portion of various capital projects and satisfy the debt service reserve requirements.

Moody's Investors Service assigned an Aa2 rating to the bonds and affirmed the Aa2 rating on $549.6 million of outstanding debt for the authority's first and second program bonds, as well as the P-1 rating on the Tennessee State School Bond Authority's authorized $300 million of Series A and B commercial paper notes.

Camino Real RMA to bring $237 million

Elsewhere, the Camino Real Regional Mobility Authority said Monday it plans to price $237 million in passthrough toll transportation revenue bonds.

The series 2008 bonds will be used to fund the construction of a 7.4 mile stretch of highway called State Spur 601, said Tanny Berg with the authority on Monday afternoon.

Berg said in an interview with Prospect News that the bonds will likely price in the last week of January, though no actual pricing date has been set.

The bonds will be sold on a competitive basis, Berg said.

Moody's Investors Service rated the bonds A2 on Monday and Berg said the authority will likely just stick with the Moody's rating rather than going to the other agencies.

"The bonds are guaranteed, really, by the state of Texas, so that's why they gave us the rating they did," Berg said in the interview.

Berg said he could not speculate on a potential coupon, but did say he is optimistic about the pricing.

"It's really hard to say what the Fed is going to do, but obviously times are good for doing a pricing," he said. "It's too early to say for sure though."

Mecklenburg County's GOs

Elsewhere, Mecklenburg County in North Carolina confirmed its plans Monday to price $12 million in series 2008A general obligation bonds and $148.5 million in series 2008B general obligation public improvement bonds.

Those bonds, according to Wanda Reeves, debt manager for the county, will price on Jan. 23.

The bonds have a serial structure from 2009 through 2028 and the proceeds will be used for park development, land acquisitions and law enforcement facilities, Reeves said Monday.

Washington Drama Society's $120 million deal

In other offerings set to price later this month, Washington Drama Society, Inc. in the District of Columbia plans to price $120 million in a Aaa-rated offering of variable-rate demand revenue bonds, series 2008.

The bonds, according to a statement released by Moody's, will price Jan. 23. The offering could not be confirmed by press time Monday with the society.

Shattuck Hammond Partners is the lead manager for the offering, according to Moody's.

In upcoming competitive issues, the Maryland Department of Transportation plans to price $250 million in bonds on Jan. 28.

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