NTTA OK's $150M Refunding

DALLAS – The North Texas Tollway Authority on Wednesday approved refunding up to $150 million of toll revenue bonds.

The authority’s plans include refunding of a series of bonds issued during the height of the financial crisis of 2008.

The deal is expected to price through negotiation Oct. 2.

The transaction will include $100 million of put bonds that are renewable Jan. 1, and $35.8 million of 2003 toll revenue bonds.

The refunding is not expected to surpass $150 million, said Dana Gibson Boone, head of treasury services for NTTA.

“Depending on how the market moves, we want to maintain a cushion for how much we issue,” she said.

The board authorized the negotiated deal through JPMorgan, Rice Financial Co. and Ramirez & Co.

In 2008, the NTTA was in the midst of record expansion of its bond debt to build the State Highway 121 tollway north of Dallas when the financial crisis struck.

Lehman Brothers, a swap partner on NTTA debt, collapsed in the fall.

On Wednesday, the board also authorized a request for qualifications for the NTTA’s general engineering consultant contract, its fifth and final major procurement in 2012.

Earlier this year, the board rebid its contracts for financial advisor. The board shifted duties for RBC Capital Markets as financial advisor and added First Southwest Co.

The two firms were chosen after the NTTA board voted last December to launch a search for firms to compete with its so-called legacy contractors, companies that had been working for the authority for years without having to bid for contracts.

“The NTTA has accomplished the schedule set by the board in December 2011,” NTTA chairman Kenneth Barr said in a statement issued Wednesday. “This fulfills the board’s commitment to re-visit the major procurements, ensure complete transparency in the process and respond to the Independent Financial and Performance Review.”

The RFQ will cover the delivery of the general engineering consultant duties, responsibilities, and obligations that are largely defined in the NTTA Trust Agreements, and provide an independent “check and balance” to protect the bondholder’s investment interests in NTTA assets.

Under the major consultant procurement plan, the board has approved the splitting of the scope of services for program management consultant and GEC services. One firm may not hold both contracts.

The NTTA operates toll highways in a four-county region in metropolitan Dallas.

The agency ranked as the top bond issuer for the Southwest region in 2011.

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Transportation industry Texas
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