Porter White & Company (“PW&Co”), a Birmingham-based municipal advisor, is pleased to announce that it served as the municipal advisor to the Birmingham Airport Authority (the “Authority”) on the issuance of $102,130,000 Airport Revenue Bonds, Series 2020, dated July 9, 2020.
PW&Co served as the initial financial advisor to the Authority in connection with its organization in 1986, and has served as municipal advisor for the Authority since 2012. The Series 2020 Bonds were issued for the purpose of refunding at a substantially lower interest cost the Series 2010 Bonds issued in 2010. The strategic goal of the refunding was to make the airport more competitive and attractive to airlines by reducing leverage and annual debt service payments while maintaining strong liquidity as protection against unforeseen occurrences such as the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Authority’s refunding transaction resulted in net present value savings of approximately $33 million (or 23.7% of the refunded bonds). In December 2019, the Authority used its strong liquidity position to retire its Series 2003 and Series 2007 bonds outstanding in the approximate amount of $20 million. As a result of the refunding and retirement transactions, the Authority’s maximum annual debt service payments have been reduced from $16.6 million to approximately $10 million without extending the final maturity date.
PW&Co assisted the Authority with:
- Assembling the transaction team, including managing a request for proposal process for underwriters;
- Developing internal forward-looking financial statements for the purposes of analyzing rates and future financial results;
- Communicating with rating agencies to ensure the Authority’s current and potential future credit fundamentals were understood; and
- Assisting the transaction team with market strategy and disclosure materials.
The transaction team included an underwriting syndicate consisting of Piper Sandler (Senior Manager), Morgan Stanley (Co-Manager), and Siebert Williams Shank & Co. (Co-Manager). Bradley Arant Bolt Cummings LLP and Ken Simon Law, Birmingham, Alabama served as co-bond counsel, Maynard Cooper & Gale P.C. and Kelvin Howard, Birmingham, Alabama served as co-Authority counsel, and Ezell Law LLC,. Birmingham, Alabama served as underwriter’s counsel.
For more information on how we can assist your municipality, please contact Michael Stone or Goodloe White.
