Compared to last week's lull in new-issue volume ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, this week investors will have plenty of deals to choose from - including a handful of some of the most sizable offerings that the otherwise relatively lackluster primary market has seen in recent months.
There is an estimated $6.30 billion in total volume expected to be priced this week, including $5.43 billion in negotiated issuance compared with a revised $1.09 billion last week, as well as $868.8 million in competitive deals versus a revised $148.5 million last week, according to Thomson Reuters.
The largest deal that will usher in the robust, post-holiday activity is expected to be a $500 million revenue sale from the Illinois Finance Authority on behalf of the University of Chicago, which is slated to be priced on Wednesday by JPMorgan. The deal, which will carry ratings of Aa1 from Moody's Investors Service, AA from Standard & Poor's, and AA-plus from Fitch Ratings, is structured with serial bonds maturing from 2009 to 2028.
The New York City Municipal Water Finance Authority is also expected to make an appearance when it sells $450 million of water and sewer revenue debt to retail investors tomorrow ahead of Wednesday's official institutional pricing by Merrill Lynch & Co.
The bonds are rated Aa3 by Moody's, AA-plus by Standard & Poor's, and AA by Fitch. The structure was still being determined at press time on Wednesday, according to a source at Merrill.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is planning $300 million of federally taxable notes that mature on Dec. 1, 2011, and will be used for World Trade Center site costs. The issue will be offered in the competitive market on Wednesday and is the authority's first note deal since 2006.
The Dallas Independent School District is planning to sell $400 million of GOs, with senior manager RBC Capital Markets LLC pricing the offering tomorrow for retail investors and on Wednesday for institutional investors.
The bonds are structured to mature from 2012 to 2034 and have underlying ratings of Aa3 from Moody's, AA from Standard & Poor's, and AA-minus from Fitch, although the debt is backed by the Texas Permanent School Fund.
Texas' Lower Colorado River Authority is planning to issue $300 million of refunding and improvement bonds on Wednesday following a retail order period tomorrow by senior underwriter Morgan Stanley.
The bonds are rated A1 by Moody's, A by Standard & Poor's, and A-plus by Fitch, and the structure consists of $53.6 million of serial bonds maturing from 2009 to 2018, as well as a $41.1 million series maturing in 2023, a $54.0 million series maturing in 2028, and a $151.1 million series consisting of a 2037 term bond.
Meanwhile, a $424.4 million sale from the Northern California Transmission Agency is expected to headline the California market on Thursday when JPMorgan officially prices the deal for institutions, following a retail order period planned for Wednesday.
The deal consists of four different series of serial and term bonds, one of which is taxable.
Series A, $104.4 million, matures from 2009 to 2020. Series B, $229.6 million, matures from 2014 to 2020. Series C, $32 million, matures serially in 2019 and 2020. All three series have one term bond each maturing in 2029. Series D, $58.3 million, is taxable and matures from 2009 to 2018. The bonds are rated A-plus by Standard & Poor's and Fitch.
In the Southeast, a pair of deals - a pollution control revenue issue and a hospital bond sale - will add to the potpourri of deals expected this week.
A group of development authorities in Georgia will sell a multi-structured offering of pollution control revenue bonds on behalf of the Ogelthorpe Power Corp. project when JPMorgan prices the $380 million deal on Thursday.
Series 2008D consists of a 2040 term bond, Series 2008 E consists of a 2023 term bond, and Series 2008B contains a 2041 term bond, all of which are subject to the alternative minimum tax. In addition, Series 2008F contains a 2039 term maturity, while Series 2008 A consists of two term bonds due in 2040 and 2041, all of which are non-AMT.
Switching gears to the hospital sector, the Highlands County, Fla., Health Facilities Authority is anticipating pricing its $350 million sale of long-term adjustable-rate hospital revenue bonds on behalf of the Adventist Health System/Sunbelt Obligated Group this week.
The deal, which is being negotiated by Ziegler Capital Markets, contains bonds that are subject to five-, seven-, and nine-year puts, and which are rated A1 by Moody's, A-plus by Standard & Poor's, and AA-minus by Fitch.
One of the other sizable deals of the week is a $300 million Virginia Housing Development Authority sale of natural triple-A rated single-family mortgage revenue bonds being sold in two series - Series D AMT bonds and Series D non-AMT bonds - and being priced by Merrill tomorrow after today's retail order period. The firm could not provide the structure of the deal at press time on Wednesday.
