California Touts Savings in GO Refunding

LOS ANGELES -- California sold $764 million of general obligation bonds on Aug. 27, generating $56.2 million in present value savings from the refunding portion.

The deal included $205 million of new money bonds for public works projects and $559 million of refunding bonds.

“We’re extremely pleased with the outcome,” said Tom Dresslar, a spokesman for State Treasurer Bill Lockyer. “We consider the rates excellent for taxpayers, and it’s always nice when a refunding lessens their debt service burden.”

The deal was sold in two separate offerings, consisting of $249 million of bonds with maturities ranging from one to ten years, and $515 million of bonds with maturities ranging from 11 to 20 years.

Citi submitted the winning bid for the shorter maturities at an overall true interest cost of 2.910%. JPMorgan submitted the lowest bid for the longer maturities at an overall TIC of 4.630%.

Nine underwriters submitted bids for the shorter maturities and eight submitted bids for the longest maturities.

The bonds were rated A1 by Moody’s Investors Service, and A by both Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Ratings. All agencies gave stable outlooks.

California last sold GO bonds competitively in October 2012, with a $540 million refunding. JPMorgan submitted the winning bid with a 3.2254% TIC. The maturities ranged from one to 20 years.

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