A public university in Ohio issued $74 million in bonds to refund previously issued securities.
The bonds, issued by Miami University, mature between 2025 and 2039, yielding between 2.91% and 3.38%. They pay interest at 5%. The securities received a rating of AA from Fitch Ratings and Aa3 from Moody’s Investors Service.
The rating reflects the university’s “very strong credit quality and stable overall performance through modest enrollment declines and expense pressures,” Fitch analysts wrote.
The university will use the issuance proceeds to refund bonds that it sold in 2014.
Miami University is a public institution in Oxford, Ohio, about 35 miles northwest of Cincinnati. It enrolls almost 19,000 students at its flagship campus, and a few thousand at regional campuses in nearby Ohio towns and at a European campus in Luxembourg.
The university is by far the most expensive of the public universities in Ohio. It charges an average of $18,162 for in-state first-year undergraduates, and $40,822 for those coming from out of state. Bowling Green State University, the next-most-expensive public university in Ohio, charges $13,519 for first-year in-state students, and $21,507 for first-year out-of-state students.
The bonds are special obligations of Miami University, secured by its revenue. The university recorded $537.5 million in operating revenue last fiscal year, almost all of which came from tuition and fees.
RBC Capital Markets, LLC served as lead underwriter on the issuance, purchasing the bonds for $92.3 million. The price reflected a premium of more than $8 million. Blue Rose Capital Advisors, LLC acted as municipal advisor.