Texas A&M bonds to sell Thursday; Fairfax County delays bond sale

By Cristal Cody and Sheri Kasprzak

New York, Jan. 9 - Mid-January and February are set to be busy with several issuers planning substantial municipal bond sales.

The Board of Regents at the Texas A&M University System will sell $169.51 million in competitive revenue financing system bonds Thursday.

The series 2008 bonds (Aa1/AA+) have serial maturities from May 15, 2008 to May 15, 2037 with optional term bonds. First Southwest Co. is the financial advisor.

The university system is issuing the bonds to help fund several new campus projects, including residential housing for West Texas A&M University and a wellness center for Texas A&M Corpus Christi.

Fairfax County bonds delayed

In other news, the pricing of $237.915 million public improvement bond issue from Virginia's Fairfax County has been pushed back, a source familiar with the bonds said Wednesday.

The bonds had been set to price earlier this week, but the source said the pricing had been moved to Jan. 15. The insider could not provide any reason for why the issue was moved.

According to a bid notice, the county reserves the right to change the date for receipt of bids.

The series 2008A bonds have a serial structure from 2009 through 2028, though the county also said it reserves the right to change the maturity schedule until right before the bids are received. If no change is announced, then the initial maturity schedule will become the official serial maturities. The county also said it reserves the right to change the maturity schedule after the winning bidder is selected by increasing or decreasing the aggregate principle amount of the bonds by no more than 10%.

Proceeds will be used for school improvements, parks and park facilities, library facilities, transportation improvements and facilities, and public safety facilities.

The bonds will be sold competitively and were rated Aaa by Moody's Investors Service earlier this week.

Tennessee to issue bonds next week

Moody's Investors Service assigned an Aa2 rating to the Tennessee State School Bond Authority's $118.4 million in competitive bonds, planned for sale Tuesday.

The 2008 series A higher educational facilities second program bonds received a stable outlook, Moody's reported Wednesday.

Moody's also 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. As of Jan. 1, the authority had $255 million of commercial notes outstanding.

Mary-Margaret Collier, director of bond finance for the state, said it also expects ratings for the serial bonds to be issued by Standard & Poor's Rating Services and Fitch Ratings.

The bonds will have serial maturities from May 2008 through 2038.

"The bonds will be awarded based on the lowest true interest cost," she said Wednesday. "The new debt will be issued only under the second program resolution."

The financial advisor is Public Financial Management in Memphis, Tenn.

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.

The authority issues debt for all the public higher education institutions in the state, including six four-year regional public universities, 13 community colleges, and the four campuses of the University of Tennessee.

Sweetwater to issue first part of $644 million bond

Several sales are planned in February, including the first part of a $644 million bond measure by Sweetwater Union High School District in Chula Vista, Calif.

The district expects to issue a $180 million bond, depending on the market, district spokesman Lillian Leopold said.

The bond amount will be finalized in a Jan. 28 board meeting, she said.

The underwriters are UBS Investment Bank and Alta Vista Financial Inc.

The district may have one more issuance this year, depending on the market.

"Our economy has been in the toilet lately, so it may be the only sale this year," Leopold said. "It's a 35-year bond, so we can issue it all the way up to those 35 years. It all depends on what our tax base can support."

The entire bond measure will be used to for repairs and upgrades to 35 middle, high and adult school campuses in the Sweetwater Union High School District.

Texas school district to issue $141.12 million in bonds

Lamar Consolidated Independent School District in Fort Bend County, Texas, expects to issue $141.12 million in bonds on Feb. 15.

The unlimited tax schoolhouse and refunding bonds, series 2008, will be issued in part as current interest bonds and as capital appreciation bonds. Interest on the current interest bonds will be payable twice a year. Interest on the capital appreciation bonds will be paid only at maturity.

The current interest bonds of $138.66 million have serial maturities from 2009 to 2038. The capital appreciation bonds of $2.46 million mature in 2016, 2017 and 2019.

The lead underwriter is UBS Investment Bank, said Jill Ludwig, chief financial officer of the school district.

Proceeds from the tax-exempt bonds will be used to construct and equip school buildings, purchase sites for facilities, and refund a portion of the district's outstanding debt.

Texas Public Finance Authority plans February bond sale

Also planned in February is a bond sale by the Texas Public Finance Authority.

The authority will issue $228.64 million in general obligation refunding bonds Feb. 20.

The series 2008 bonds are being issued to refund a portion of the authority's outstanding general obligation bonds.

The lead underwriter is UBS Securities LLC.

The tax-exempt bonds are rated Aa1 by Moody's Investors Service, AA by Standard & Poor's Rating Services, and AA+ by Fitch Ratings.

The bonds have serial maturities from 2009 to 2012 and 2015.

Additional information was not available by press time.

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