Oakland University, a public school in Rochester, Michigan, sold $18.8 million in bonds to refund previously issued securities.
The bonds mature between 2025 and 2039, yielding between 3.12% and 3.62%. They pay interest at 5%. The securities received a rating of A1 from Moody’s Investors Service.
The rating reflects the university’s “moderately large scale and scope of operations, strong wealth and liquidity levels and well managed operations,” Moody’s analysts wrote.
The issuance follows Oakland’s Cinderella performance in this year’s NCAA men’s basketball tournament, known as March Madness. The Oakland Golden Grizzlies, seeded 14, beat the third-seeded Kentucky Wildcats in the tournament’s first round last month.
Stephen Mackey, the school’s vice president for finance and administration, said in an interview with Bloomberg that the March Madness performance would draw investors to the issuance. The school listed the victory as its most recent noteworthy accomplishment in the official statement accompanying the sale of the bonds.
The university will use the bond proceeds to refund bonds that it sold in 2014.
Oakland University enrolls about 16,000 students at its campus 30 miles north of Detroit. The bonds are limited obligations of the university’s governing body, payable by university revenue.
Siebert Williams Shank & Co, LLC served as underwriter on the issuance, purchasing the bonds for $20.7 million. The price reflected a premium of almost $2 million. PFM Financial Advisors LLC acted as municipal advisor.