Volume to Rebound Over $8B; Port Authority, NYC TFA Top the List

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Municipal bond volume is poised to rebound in the coming week, led by a deal from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Volume will jump to about $8.84 billion, according to Ipreo LLC and The Bond Buyer, from past week's revised total of $6.51 billion, according to Thomson Reuters. The volume for the week of April 13 is broken down into $6.60 billion of negotiated deals and $2.24 billion of competitives.

The calendar includes 10 issues of $200 million or more, including three competitive sales. The Port Authority is bringing a $775 million deal.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch is scheduled to price the authority's consolidated bonds on Tuesday after a one-day retail order period. The deal is structured to consist of 188th Series alternative minimum tax (AMT) bonds and 189th Series non-AMT bonds. The issue is rated Aa3 by Moody's Investors Service and AA-minus by Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings.

According to S&P, the proceeds of this sale will refund PANYNJ obligations (139th and 140th series bonds), fund capital projects, and/or refund other obligations.

"The 'AA-' rating reflects our opinion of the diversity of the PANYNJ's operations; it's very strong liquidity, its vital role in the region, and our expectation of continued strong debt service coverage," said Joseph Pezzimenti, credit analyst for S&P.

Staying in the big apple, the New York City Transitional Finance Authority will be coming to market with bonds in the negotiated and competitive sector totaling $850 million.

Loop Capital Markets LLC is scheduled to price the TFA's $650 million of future tax secured subordinate bonds, Fiscal 2015 Subseries E-1 on Thursday after a two-day order period starting on Tuesday. The deal may be structured as serials running from 2017 to 2035 with term bonds in 2040 and 2042. The bonds are rated Aa1 by Moody's and triple-A by S&P and Fitch.

Barclays, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs & Co., JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo Securities will be serving as co-senior managers.

On Thursday, the TFA will competitively sell $200 million of future tax secured taxable subordinate bonds, Fiscal 2015 Subseries E-2. The deal may be structured as serials ranging from 2020 to 2029. The taxable are rated triple-A by Fitch.

The state legislature created TFA in 1997 to bypass city debt limits on general obligation issuance. It funds some of the city's capital programs.

Baylor Scott & White Holdings (BSWH) will be offering $554.280 million of taxable bonds for the Baylor health care system. The deal is rated Aa3 by Moody's and AA-minus by S&P. According to Moody's, the bonds are expected to mature in 2045, though BSWH is evaluating the inclusion of 5, 10 and 40-year maturities as well.

"The proceeds from the Series 2015 taxable and tax-exempt bonds will be used to fully refinance the Series 2008A and 2009 bonds and partially refinance the Series 2010 bonds, as well as provide funds for capital projects and strategic initiatives," Moody's said in a report published April 2.

The University of Pennsylvania health system is scheduled to come to market on Monday with $367 million of hospital revenue bonds, Series 2015. Bank of America Merrill Lynch will be the leading manager in a deal that is rated Aa3 by Moody's and AA-minus by S&P.

JPMorgan is expected to price the Multicare Health System in Washington State's $360 million of bonds Series 2015A and 2015B on Thursday. The deal is scheduled to be priced to mature serially from 2015-2045. The deal is rated Aa3 by Moody's and AA-minus by both S&P and Fitch. Melio and Co. will be the financial advisor on the deal.

The Michigan Finance Authority is expected to come with two separate issues totaling roughly $439.195 million. BofA is scheduled to price $225 million of school loan revolving fund revenue taxable bonds, Series 2015A on Wednesday. This deal is rated Aa2 by Moody's and AA-plus by S&P.

RBC Capital Markets is expected to price the MFA's $214.195 million of hospital revenue and refunding bonds on Tuesday. These bonds are rated A1 by Moody's and A-plus by S&P.

In other competitive issues: On Wednesday, Virginia is coming with $214.980 million of general obligation refunding bonds, Series 2015B. The deal is rated Aaa by Moody's and triple-A by S&P and Fitch. The last time Virginia sold bonds competitively was on March, 27, 2014, when they came to market with $128.270 million. JP Morgan won with a true interest cost of 2.6031%.

And Boulder Valley school district No. RE-2 in Colorado is scheduled to sell $250 million of GO bonds, Series 2015 on Tuesday. The deal is rated Aa1 by Moody's, double-A by S&P and AA-plus by Fitch. This school district last sold bonds competitively on Sept. 9, 2009, when they sold just $56.070 million. Morgan Stanley won with a TIC of 2.5553%.

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