The Dormitory Authority of the State of New York plans a sale of $135 million revenue bonds under its school districts revenue bond financing program Wednesday, after a one-day retail period.
Four series of bonds will be offered on behalf of 11 upstate New York school districts, according to Portia Lee, DASNY’s managing director for public finance. DASNY’s board approved the bond issue in September. The bonds are secured by payments to be made by the participating school districts under financing agreements that are in turn secured by general obligation school district bonds that carry the full faith and credit of each participating district.
The bonds consist of $13.1 million in Series 2011E, $12.3 million in Series 2011F, $32.7 million in Series 2011G, and $76.5 million in Series 2011H.
Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Ratings each assigned an A-plus rating to the bonds. “The A-plus program rating, two notches below [New York State’s] general obligation bond rating, reflects the statutory ability to intercept available state school aid to provide funds to pay debt service if borrowers fail to make payments on the underlying loans to DASNY,” Fitch said in a report. Fitch also assigned a positive outlook.
RBC Capital Markets is lead manager. Morgan Keegan is co-manager. Other underwriters are Jefferies & Co., BB&T Capital Markets, Janney Montgomery Scott, Fidelity Capital Markets Services, Ramirez & Co., Roosevelt & Cross Inc., Grigsby & Associates Inc., and Siebert Brandford Shank & Co.
Hiscock & Barclay LLP is bond counsel to the authority. Winston & Strawn LLP and the Law Offices of Joseph C. Reid PA are counsel to the underwriters.
DASNY, created in 1944 by state legislation, finances and builds facilities for higher education, health care providers, court facilities, and certain nonprofit institutions and public agencies. It derives its name from its original purpose, to build dormitories at state teachers’ colleges.
