Volume Gets Post-Holiday Boost, Including Utah BABs

Volume in the primary market is expected to be an estimated $9.11 billion of new issues, according to data from Ipreo LLC and The Bond Buyer. That follows a revised $2.31 billion of deals priced the week of Labor Day, according to Thomson Reuters.

This week features a generous amount of Build America Bonds, including some planned as part of a $1.04 billion general obligation offering from Utah.

Massachusetts plans a competitive short-term sale tomorrow with three series of revenue anticipation notes totaling $1.2 billion.

Morgan Stanley is planning to price the Utah GO deal as two separate sales beginning tomorrow with $311.7 million of Series 2009C tax-exempt bonds that mature serially from 2010 to 2014.

The largest portion of the financing consists of $729.5 million of Series 2009D taxable, direct-pay BABs, which Morgan will price on Wednesday with two term bonds maturing in 2018 and 2024.

Both series have natural triple-A ratings from Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s.

The Northeast will see $555.4 million of consolidated service contract revenue refunding bonds from the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York. Citi is expected to price the two-pronged offering on Wednesday, following a retail order period tomorrow.

The deal consists of $545.8 million of tax-exempt bonds maturing from 2010 to 2024, as well as $9.6 million of taxable non-BAB debt in 2010.

The bonds are expected to carry ratings of AA-minus from Standard & Poor’s and A-plus from Fitch Ratings.

A $600 million offering of federal reimbursement state road fund bonds from the Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission will be the largest deal in a string of transportation and airport issues.

Lead manager Merrill Lynch & Co. will price the Missouri deal on Thursday. The structure will consist of $341.5 million of BABs and $258.4 million of tax-exempt debt.

The exact maturities were not finalized at press time on Friday. The bonds are expected to be rated Aa2 by Moody’s, AA-plus by Standard & Poor’s, and AA-minus by Fitch.

Elsewhere in the transportation sector, Washington’s Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority plans $378 million of sales and use tax and motor vehicle excise tax bonds priced by Citi and Goldman, Sachs & Co. on Wednesday following a retail order period tomorrow.

The three-pronged offering includes $300 million of sales tax bonds in Series 2009 S-2T, which are taxable BABs maturing in 2039.

Approximately $75 million of sales tax and motor vehicle excise tax bonds will be in Series 2009 P-2T, which are also BABs and structured to mature from 2020 to 2028, according to the preliminary official statement.

In addition, about $25 million of sales tax and motor vehicle excise tax bonds will be issued in Series 2009 P-1, which is tax-exempt and structured to mature from 2015 to 2028. The bonds are Aa3 by Moody’s and triple A by Standard & Poor’s.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will join the activity when it issues $300 million of consolidated revenue bonds on Wednesday in the competitive market with bonds maturing from 2030 to 2039.

Switching gears to the airport sector, $484 million from the Clark County, Nev., Department of Aviation is planned for pricing by Citi on Thursday and will finance ongoing expansion at McCarren Airport.

The deal includes $300 million of senior-lien BABs maturing in 2040. They are rated Aa2 by Moody’s and AA-minus by Standard & Poor’s, which downgraded its outlook to negative ahead of the sale. Moody’s downgraded its outlook to negative back in June.

The financing will also include $184 million of subordinate-lien tax-exempt airport system revenue bonds maturing from 2013 to 2026. It is expected to be insured by Financial Security Assurance.

Dallas and Forth Worth are also teaming up to issue joint revenue refunding bonds on behalf of Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport this week.

Siebert, Branford Shank & Co. is expected to price the $310 million sale on Thursday, after conducting a retail order period on Wednesday. The bonds have ratings of A1 from Moody’s, A-plus from Standard & Poor’s, and AA-minus from Fitch, and are structured to mature serially from 2010 to 2024.

In other sizable deals taking place this week, Illinois will issue $400 million of GO debt maturing serially from 2010 to 2034 in the competitive market on Wednesday, while Miami-Dade County will issue a two-pronged sale of transit system sales surtax revenue debt totaling $329.7 million.

Illinois’ deal will finance road and bridge projects as part of the state’s $31 billion capital plan. Those bonds are rated A1 by Moody’s, AA-minus by Standard & Poor’s, and A by Fitch.

Wells Fargo Securities will price the Florida offering on Thursday, after a retail order period Wednesday.

The deal consists of $77.8 million of Series 2009A tax-exempt bonds maturing from 2012 to 2021 and $251.9 million of Series 2009B bonds maturing in 2029 and 2039.

Moody’s rates the county’s revenue bonds A1, while Fitch rates the credit A-plus.

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