N.Y.C., Texas, and Pennsylvania Deals Make Up Big Part of Slate

Issuers in New York, Texas, and Pennsylvania will bring three of the largest deals to the primary market this week amid a relatively small slate of offerings, part of an estimated $3.97 billion planned for the negotiated and competitive markets combined.

The largest deal will hail from New York City, where a $520 million two-pronged general obligation offering is being planned for pricing on Wednesday by Citi. The deal includes $400 million of tax-exempt bonds maturing serially from 2011 to 2018 and from 2022 to 2024, as well as $120 million of taxable term bonds maturing in 2021.

The bonds, which will be offered to mom-and-pop investors during a three-day retail order period that began last Friday and concludes tomorrow, are rated Aa3 by Moody's Investors Service, AA by Standard & Poor's, and AA-minus by Fitch Ratings.

In Texas, a $435.1 million electric and gas system revenue offering from the San Antonio Public Service Board is being planned for pricing by Merrill, Lynch & Co. on Wednesday. As of press time on Friday, underwriters said that since the preliminary official statement had not yet been mailed, the structure could not yet be disclosed.

The San Antonio bonds are rated Aa1 by Moody's, AA-plus by Standard & Poor's, and AA by Fitch.

The University of Pittsburgh, meanwhile, will issue $421.2 million of higher education capital project and refunding bonds in what is the largest deal in a trio of planned offerings in the education sector.

Barclay's Capital is planning to price the offering on Thursday following a retail order period on Wednesday. The offering includes $136.2 million of Series A 2009 university refunding bonds maturing from 2010 to 2022, and $285 million of Series B 2009 university capital project bonds that will mature from 2012 to 2031, and the bonds are rated Aa2 by Moody's, and AA by Standard & Poor's.

In Oregon, the Salem-Keizer School District 24J is planning to issue approximately $384.2 million of GOs for school construction and renovation in a negotiated deal being priced by Seattle-Northwest Securities Corp. on Wednesday.

Series A will consist of $224 million of current interest bonds maturing from 2011 to 2019, and Series B will consist of $160 million of deferred interest bonds maturing from 2019 to 2029, according to the preliminary official statement. The bonds are backed by the Oregon School Bond Guaranty, which is rated Aa2 by Moody's and AA by Standard & Poor's.

Elsewhere in the education sector, the Virginia School Authority is planning to sell $265.9 million of refunding bonds via a negotiated deal being priced on Wednesday and senior-managed by Morgan Keegan & Co. after a retail order period tomorrow.

Rated Aa1 by Moody's and AA-plus by the two other major rating agencies, the bonds are slated to mature serially from 2009 to 2021.

In the Midwest, meanwhile, a $196.5 million sale of water revenue bonds in on tap from Kansas City, Mo. Scheduled for pricing by Merrill on Thursday, the bonds will be priced for retail investors on Wednesday with a structure that includes serial bonds maturing from 2009 to 2032 and term bonds that have yet to be finalized, according to an underwriter.

Berkshire Assurance Hathaway Corp. is likely to insure a portion of the bonds, but that had yet to be finalized at press time on Friday. The deal carried underlying ratings of A1 from Moody's and AA-plus from Standard & Poor's.

Activity in the competitive market will pale by comparison, as the only relatively noteworthy deal will be a $176.8 million GO sale planned for tomorrow from the Boulder Valley, Colo., School District #RE2, which is slated to mature from 2010 to 2034 and is rated Aa2 by Moody's and AA by both Standard & Poor's and Fitch.

Last week, the market absorbed a revised $2.75 billion in total negotiated and competitive volume, including a $600 million Georgia Road and Tollway Authority federal highway grant anticipation revenue offering whose final 2021 maturity was priced on Thursday to yield 4% - 55 basis points cheaper, or higher in yield, than the generic, triple-A GO bond due in 2021 at the time of the pricing, according to Municipal Market Data.

In addition, $510 million of Massachusetts GO bonds were repriced on Thursday to include a 2039 final maturity with a 5% coupon yielding 4.98% - 22 basis points cheaper than the generic triple-A GO bond in 2039 at the time of the pricing, according to MMD.

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