Starting last fall, the market for government-issued debt slowed considerably thanks to the global credit crunch. But the state of Georgia was able to buck that trend this month, issuing about $613.9 m
illion in general-obligation bonds.
Having a triple-A bond rating, as is the case with Georgia’s state government, helped push the transaction through the tightened credit markets, according to The Bond Buyer magazine.
The state completed the bond sale Feb. 4. The proceeds will be used to fund new schools and roads, according to Gov. Sonny Perdue. Georgia locked in a rate of 1.61 percent for the five-year bonds in the package, and a rate of 3.89 percent for the 20-year bonds.
Moody’s Investors Service, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Ratings each has assigned triple-A ratings to Georgia’s debt. Fitch attributed its rating to Georgia’s “conservative debt management, consistent maintenance of sound finances and a diversified economy.”
Alston & Bird partner Karol Mason was bond counsel to the state. King & Spalding partner Woody Vaughan, counsel Don Meyer and Clair Fitzgerald, and associate Ansly Paulk were underwriters’ counsel; all are in Atlanta except Fitzgerald, who is in New York. Greenberg Traurig partner Ernest Greer was disclosure counsel. Assistant Attorney General Lisa J. Kennedy of the state Department of Law handled matters internally for the state.