Two Louisiana-based groups contacted the lead underwriter and ratings agencies in an effort to stop the sale of $440 million of bonds and notes.
The groups Rural Roots Louisiana and Louisiana Bucket Brigade contacted lead underwriter Wells Fargo earlier this month and the four major ratings agencies this week to voice their concerns about the deal, which will fund a deep-water dock at the RiverPlex MegaPark in Ascension Parish to support a planned Hyundai Steel Company $5.8 billion manufacturing plant.
The bonds and notes would be issued through the conduit Port of South Louisiana, a state agency, and haven't yet been presented to the
The groups allege the obligor isn't identified and active litigation challenging the validity of preliminary bond authorization makes the bonds unratable. The groups claim no clear repayment source has been identified.
They told Wells Fargo and the ratings agencies that Hyundai's significant tariff exposure calls into question the project's commercial viability. They said they haven't received responses to their letters.
Wells Fargo said it had no comment. Fitch said it does not rate the bonds. S&P Global Ratings generally doesn't rate the Port of South Louisiana. Moody's Ratings and KBRA didn't immediately respond to inquiries about whether they rate the bonds.
The groups filed three lawsuits in May, including one in the 40th Judicial District Court for the Parish of St. John the Baptist that
A second suit said grants and state and local tax reductions for the project took on liabilities that should have been reviewed by the State Bond Commission.
The third suit said the planned construction work would damage the grave sites of enslaved people.
Hyundai and the Port of South Louisiana are behind schedule for the project, said Pam Spees, senior attorney for the Center for Constitutional Rights.
The Port of South Louisiana and Louisiana Division of Administration didn't respond to requests for comment. Hyundai didn't immediately respond to a request for a comment.
