While the past year has been a tumultuous one for the Golden State, its actions lastyear to counteract its energy crisis has earned the California Department of WaterResources the 2003 Deal of the Year honors from The Bond Buyer.
The DWR's $11.26 billion revenue bond sale last fall financed the purchase of electricpower that was used to end the "rolling blackouts" that affected the state in 2001.
"At a time when the market is focusing on what California's leaders are doing tosurmount their current fiscal crisis, this award stands as a reminder that the state hascreatively solved financial problems in the past and has the potential to do so again,"said Amy Resnick, editor in chief of The Bond Buyer.
"The issuer overcame conflicting political interests to structure a transaction thatsold into a saturated market as spreads widened, committing to additional disclosure toincrease appeal to investors," Resnick said at the awards dinner held last night at theRitz Carlton Battery Park in New York City.
A special supplement focusing on all the winners will appear in The Bond Buyer nextmonth. The DWR is the second recipient of the Deal of the Year. The Chicago HousingAuthority, which sold $298 million of capital program revenue bonds by leveraging U.S.Housing and Urban Development capital grants, was the inaugural winner.
The DWR deal beat out four other regional finalists: Illinois' $10 billion taxablepension fund bond sale; the New Jersey Turnpike Authority's sale of $2.4 billion ofbonds to facilitate a merger with the Garden State Parkway; the $1.4 billion jointrevenue bond financing for Dallas Fort-Worth Airport; and the Alabama Public HousingFacilities Financing Corp.'s $125.5 million bond sale to securitize future grants by HUDon behalf of 37 local housing agencies.
Each of the nominees for the award had to meet certain criteria. Those include creatinga new or transformed credit, establishing a new type of security or credit enhancement,harnessing a new revenue stream, bringing new resources to old problems, and refundingor restructuring outstanding debt.
The Bond Buyer received more than 50 nominations for the Deal of the Year award. Thenominated transactions had to have taken place between Oct. 1, 2002, and Sept. 30, 2003.
The deals recognized with honorable mentions are:
Northeast - The Erie County, N.Y., Industrial Development Authority for a $183.3 millionschool facility revenue bond deal.
Southwest - The Colorado Educational and Cultural Facilities Authority for deals issuedon behalf of the Nature Conservancy.
Midwest - $1.54 billion of bonds issued on behalf of the Ascension Health Credit Groupthrough four issuers in multiple states.
Southeast - The Orlando-Orange County, Fla., Expressway Authority for $1.07 billion ofrevenue bonds.
Far West - The state of California for $10.965 billion of revenue anticipation warrants.
