Munis end busy session mixed; Illinois gets iffy reception; Texas Public Finance bonds price

By Sheri Kasprzak

New York, April 24 - Municipals rounded out yet another busy primary day on a mixed note with long bonds sliding and shorter maturities holding steady, traders said.

Despite a steady Treasuries market, municipals were all over the map with yields in the middle of the curve falling by 2 basis points and long bonds beyond 30 years falling by a basis point. The rest of the curve remained unchanged.

Illinois brings G.O. bonds

Heading up the day's pricing activity, the State of Illinois hit the market with $750 million of series of May 2014 general obligation bonds.

The bonds (A3/A-/A-) were sold through lead manager Wells Fargo Securities LLC.

The bonds are due 2015 to 2036 with a term bond due in 2039, said a pricing sheet. The serial coupons range from 2% to 5%. The 2039 bonds have a 4.5% coupon that priced at par and a 5% coupon that priced at 103.657.

Yields on the bonds were about 125 basis points above the MMD triple-A scale, said a market insider. Some of this reluctance could be due to a recent influx of Illinois offerings. The state came to market in April and February with G.O. bonds.

Proceeds will be used to finance capital projects under the Illinois Jobs Now! program.

Texas Finance bonds price

Elsewhere during the session, the Texas Public Finance Authority priced $715.12 million of series 2014 unemployment compensation obligation assessment revenue refunding bonds. The offering was upsized from $700,205,000.

The deal included $500,375,000 of series 2014A bonds and $214,745,000 of series 2014B bonds, according to a pricing sheet.

The 2014A bonds are due 2017 to 2019 with 3.5% to 4% coupons. The 2014B bonds are due 2015 to 2017 with 3% to 5% coupons.

The bonds (Aaa/AAA/AAA) were sold through senior managers BofA Merrill Lynch and Estrada Hinojosa & Co. Inc.

Proceeds will be used to refund the authority's series 2010A-B revenue bonds.

Virginia school bonds sold

Elsewhere, the Virginia Public School Authority sold $266,915,000 of series 2014 school financing bonds.

The bonds (Aa1/AA+/AA+) were sold competitively. BofA Merrill Lynch won the bid for the offering.

The deal included $51.51 million of series 2014A school financing bonds and $215,405,000 of series 2014B refunding bonds, said a pricing sheet.

The 2014A bonds are due 2015 to 2039 with 2.625% to 5% coupons and 0.19% to 3.76% yields.

The 2014B bonds are due 2014 and 2016 to 2026 with coupons from 3% to 5%.

Proceeds will be used to purchase series 2014A local bonds and refund the authority's series 2005D and 2006A-B bonds.

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