N.J. Transportation Trust Fund Authority Selling $2.7 Billion in Bonds to Pay for Purchase of Outstanding Debt

By Chris Wack

The New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund Authority is selling $2.7 billion in bonds to pay the purchase price of certain outstanding bonds which have been tendered for purchase.

The authority also plans to refund some outstanding transportation system bonds with the proceeds.

The authority plans to issue program bonds, which include $700 million of 2024 Series AA bonds and $500 million of 2024 Series BB bonds, are fixed-rate bonds maturing from June 15, 2025, through June 15, 2042, according to preliminary documents posted Tuesday on MuniOS.

In addition, the authority will issue system bonds that consist of $1.5 billion of 2024 Series A bonds that have a fixed-rate and mature from June 15, 2032, through June 15, 2039.

The bonds are exempt from New Jersey state gross income tax. The Series AA Program Bonds and Series A System Bonds are exempt from federal taxes, while the Series BB System Bonds are subject to federal tax.

The pricing date is Oct. 16 for retail customers, and Oct. 17 for institutional customers. The closing date is expected to be Oct. 24.

The bonds are secured by pledged property that consists primarily of revenue received by the authority from the state.

The primary purpose of the N.J. Transportation Trust Fund Authority is to provide a stable and predictable funding mechanism for transportation system improvements undertaken by the N.J. Department of Transportation and the N.J. Transit Corp.

Moody's rated the Program Bonds A2, while S&P Global Ratings rated them A- and Fitch assigned a rating of A. Moody's rated the System Bonds A2, with S&P rating them A-, and Fitch giving an A rating.

BofA Securities is listed as the lead manager for the issuances.

By Chris Wack, chris.wack@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 02, 2024 11:54 ET (15:54 GMT)

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