BRADENTON, Fla. — Miami-Dade County is completing the sale of $217 million of transit sales-tax revenue bonds today for institutional investors.
Proceeds will be used for rail and bus transit projects and various transportation-related efforts such as road widening, traffic signals, and neighborhood improvements.
The projects are part of a $2.6 billion capital improvement plan.
The offering is structured as about $29 million of Series A tax-exempt bonds with serial maturities from 2013 to 2020 and $187.9 million of Series B taxable Build America Bonds with term maturities in 2032 and 2040.
The deal is structured to result in aggregate-level debt service wrapping around outstanding transit sales-tax bonds. Insurance was determined not to be cost-effective, a county official said.
The bonds are secured by a one-half cent sales tax levied throughout the county. Pricing began Tuesday with retail sales.
The bonds are rated AA-minus by Fitch Ratings, Aa3 by Moody’s Investors Service, and AA by Standard & Poor’s.
All three agencies affirmed their ratings and stable outlooks on more than $760 million of outstanding sales tax bonds.
The transit tax was approved in a referendum of county voters in November 2002 and is used exclusively to fund transportation improvements.
Loop Capital Markets LLC is the book-runner — the first time the firm has senior managed a deal for Miami-Dade, a county official confirmed.
Others in the syndicate are Barclays Capital, Estrada Hinojosa & Co., Jackson Securities, Morgan Stanley, M.R. Beal & Co., Ramirez & Co., RBC Capital Markets, Rice Financial Products Co., Siebert Brandford Shank & Co., Stifel Nicolaus & Co. and Wells Fargo Securities.
The financial adviser is Public Resources Advisory Group. Greenberg Traurig PA and Edwards & Associates PA are bond counsel. Nabors, Giblin & Nickerson PA and Liebler, Gonzalez & Portuondo PA are disclosure counsel. Marchena and Graham PA is underwriters’ counsel.
The last debt sold by Miami-Dade County was $101 million of capital asset-acquisition special obligation bonds that priced Aug. 11 with Siebert as book-runner.
The offering was structured as $16 million of Series A bonds with 10-year maturities, $71.1 million of Series B BABs with 30-year maturities, and $13.8 million of taxable non-BAB bonds with a 2013 maturity.
The 10-year Series A serial bonds priced to yield 0.69% in 2011 with a 3% coupon, 2.03% in 2015 with a 4% coupon, and 3.15% in 2019 with a 4% coupon.
The 30-year BABs priced to yield 5.06% in 2010, 6.54% in 2030, and 6.74% in 2030.
The 30-year Treasury rate was 4.06% on Aug. 6.
