CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Wells Fargo Securities announced today that it served as senior manager for Champaign Unit 4 School District (the “District”) in its recent sale of $110 million in general obligation bonds to finance improvements for school buildings and sites. The district serves more than 10,000 students in grades pre-K through 12 in the Central Illinois communities of Champaign, Savoy, and Bondville.
The bonds will improve eight facilities, including Dr. Howard Elementary School, International Prep Academy, South Side Elementary School, Edison Middle School, Central High School, Centennial High School, Spalding Park, and McKinley Field.
“Wells Fargo is pleased to play a part in the renovation, modernization and expansion of the Champaign School District,” said Larry Richardson, the Chicago-based managing director and head of Midwest Public Finance for Wells Fargo Securities. “Demand for the bonds was high, including a big share of Illinois investors.”
Uncertainty about proposed tax reform led the district to upsize the transaction to the maximum allowed under the bond resolution, according to Thomas Lockman, chief financial and legal officer for Champaign Unit 4 School District.
“We are very pleased with the results of the sale and the resulting benefit to the community,” Lockman said. “The proceeds acquired through this transaction will allow for transformative educational opportunities for generations of our community’s students and school staff.”
Wells Fargo Securities structured the transaction with serial bonds that amortize from 2019 through 2031. Heavy investor demand pushed total orders to $873 million and an oversubscription of 7.9 times, tightening the spread across all maturities, according to Richardson. Retail investors accounted for more than half of the order book, he said. All-in interest cost for the district was 2.81 percent with an average life of seven years.
In an effort to increase opportunities for minority- and women-owned firms, the District selected a diverse underwriting syndicate, led by Wells Fargo Securities as senior manager, with Piper Jaffray & Co., BAIRD, and Siebert Cisneros Shank & Co. L.L.C. serving as co-senior managers. Academy Securities, Blaylock Van, LLC, and Stern Brothers & Co. served as co-managers. Ehlers & Associates and Comer Capital Group serve as the District’s co-municipal advisors.
The sale of the bonds on Nov. 14 followed last year’s approval by District voters for $183.4 million in general obligation bonds. The District expects to issue the balance of the bonds in 2020 to pay the remaining costs of facility projects.
About Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.9 trillion in assets. Wells Fargo’s vision is to satisfy our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through more than 8,400 locations, 13,000 ATMs, the internet (wellsfargo.com) and mobile banking, and has offices in 42 countries and territories to support customers who conduct business in the global economy. With approximately 268,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company ranked No. 25 on Fortune’s 2017 rankings of America’s largest corporations. News, insights and perspectives from Wells Fargo are also available at Wells Fargo Stories. Wells Fargo Securities is the trade name for certain securities-related capital markets and investment banking services of Wells Fargo & Company and its subsidiaries, including Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., acting through its Municipal Products Group.
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