San Diego County Regional Airport Authority Completes Largest Single Bond Sale by a California Airport

 The San Diego County Regional Airport Authority completed a major bond financing totaling $1.94 billion.

Approximately $1.58 billion of the bonds will be used to pay for a portion of the New T1 program and achieved a true interest cost of 3.34 percent. This will reduce financing costs on a present value basis by an estimated $386.5 million over the life of the program when compared to the plan of finance approved by the Airport Authority Board of Directors in October.

Of the remaining portion of the bonds, approximately $357.2 million will be used to refinance existing debt that has been in place since 2013, resulting in net present value savings for the airport authority of approximately $52.7 million.

“The airport authority continues to be in a strong financial position and this bond sale reflects the market’s confidence in our ability to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Kimberly Becker, airport authority president & CEO. “These funds allow us to continue the momentum of the New T1, providing funds for construction and in turn benefiting the region through jobs and economic investment.”

Investor demand for the Airport Authority’s bonds was very strong – investors placed more than $7.7 billion worth of orders for the bonds which contributed to the Airport Authority achieving a record-low interest cost. The bond sale’s advantageous circumstances were due to several factors, including pricing during a time when interest rates were more attractive, and the Airport Authority’s strong financial profile as evidenced by favorable credit ratings for Airport Authority bonds from Fitch Ratings and Moody’s Investor Services