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Massachusetts State College Building Authority Sells Project and Refunding Revenue Bonds, Series 2022A

On February 2, 2022, the Massachusetts State College Building Authority (MSCBA) priced its Project and Refunding Revenue Bonds, Series 2022A. The transaction consisted of both a new money and refunding component across seven of the Authority’s nine State University campuses.

Jefferies LLC served as the senior manager on the MSCBA’s $107,155,000 transaction. Ramirez & Co, Inc, a Minority Business Enterprise (“MBE”) and Raymond James & Associates, Inc served as co-senior managers while Blaylock Van, LLC, a Minority Business Enterprise (“MBE”), and Mischler Financial Group, Inc, a Veteran’s Business Enterprise (“VBE”) served as co-managers. Acacia Financial Group, Inc., a certified Women’s Business Enterprise by the Women’s Business Enterprise Council, served as the Financial Advisor.  Hinckley, Allen & Snyder, LLP served as bond counsel.  The transaction closed on February 15, 2022.

This collaboration of public and private sector partners produced a true interest cost of 2.67% over thirty years on the new money component which included the campuses of Massachusetts Maritime Academy and Westfield State University. The refunding component refinanced the Authority’s outstanding callable 2012C Project Revenue Bonds and produced just over $6 million in present value savings or 5.4% of bonds refunded. The savings will benefit the campuses of Bridgewater State University, Fitchburg State University, Framingham State University, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Westfield State University and Worcester State University.

The Massachusetts State College Building Authority issued the bonds on a Tax-Exempt basis. The transaction was met with strong demand from investors and resulted in an all in TIC of 2.34%.  The bonds were placed with 42 unique investors, 34 of which were new investors for the MSCBA.

The MSCBA finances, plans, designs, constructs and oversees the management of residence halls and student activity facilities on the nine State University campuses.  The State University housing, dining, parking, athletic and campus center facility projects developed by the Authority serve 40,000 students, once third of whom live in campus housing.  In addition, the MSCBA is authorized to fund and implement projects for the fifteen Community Colleges.

On July 13, 2021, the Massachusetts State College Building Authority (MSCBA) received competitive bids on two series of new money bonds and achieved the lowest cost of funds in its history. Acacia Financial Group, Inc., a certified Women’s Business Enterprise by the Women’s Business Enterprise Council, served as the Financial Advisor. Hinckley, Allen & Snyder, LLP served as bond counsel. Both series have a scheduled closing date of July 22, 2021.

BofA Securities was the winning bidder for the Series 2021A (Green Bonds) Project Revenue Bonds (the “Series 2021A Bonds”) with the lowest True Interest Cost (“TIC”) of 2.02%. The Series 2021A Bonds will fund new capacity housing for the Massachusetts Maritime Academy. Twelve bids were received for this series with TICs ranging from 2.02% to 2.32%. The final par amount of this series is $16,825,000, which when combined with bond premium, will generate a $17,000,000 project fund deposit. The final maturity date is May 1, 2051, and there is an optional redemption on or after May 1, 2030 at 100% of par.

Raymond James was the winning bidder for the Series 2021B Project Revenue Bonds (the “Series 2021B Bonds”) with the lowest True Interest Cost (“TIC”) of 1.72%. The Series 2021B Bonds will fund renovations to Company 1 residence hall for the Massachusetts Maritime Academy and the Amsler Student Center at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. Five bids were received for this series with TICs ranging from 1.72% to 2.04%. The final par amount of this series is $2,265,000, which when combined with bond premium, will generate a $2,500,000 project fund deposit. The final maturity May 1, 2041, and there is an optional redemption on or after May 1, 2030 at 100% of par.

The MSCBA finances, plans, designs, constructs, and oversees the management of residence halls and student activity facilities on the nine State University campuses. The State University housing, dining, parking, athletic and campus center facility projects developed by the Authority serve 40,000 students, one third of whom live in campus housing. In addition, the MSCBA is authorized to fund and implement projects for the fifteen Community Colleges.

On July 1, 2020, the Massachusetts State College Building Authority (MSCBA) closed its largest ever bond transaction which provided debt service relief to each of its nine State Universities for Fiscal Year 2021 and Fiscal Year 2022 while also achieving overall economic savings.   The debt restructuring was designed to assist the State Universities with navigating the financial challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.