Bond defaults

The number of municipal bond delinquencies declined in the third quarter, despite some dramatic outliers that Moody's Investors Service characterized as idiosyncratic in a report released Monday.

A $25.5 million cash offer plus some equity was made to acquire Legacy Park, which was financed with $284 million of now-defaulted revenue bonds.

At least two schools are facing the legal costs of terminating the transactions as well as pursuing alternative financing for almost $500 million in construction projects.

Plans for a garbage-to-jet fuels facility in Gary, Indiana, are on hold after bonds for the same operator's plant in Nevada went into default.

Legacy Cares, which filed for bankruptcy in May, is trying to sell Legacy Park, which was financed with now-defaulted bonds issued in 2020 and 2021.

The settlement, which hinged on a successful exchange of old bonds for fresh debt, resolves long-running investor litigation.

Bondholders granted some breathing room to the speculative-grade polypropylene recycling project along the Ohio River, now reported to have entered production.

While acknowledging disputed allegations of mismanagement and infractions on the part of venue owner Legacy Cares, the judge denied a motion by the U.S. trustee in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy to appoint an independent trustee or dismiss the case.

Mercy Hospital plans to sell facilities and other assets to the University of Iowa, which approved $20 million for the acquisition.

Major bondholder Preston Hollow and the trustee for $86 million of debt sold for Mercy Iowa City in 2011 and 2018 pointed to default events.