Baird Completes $6M Bond Issue for Mukwonago Area School District

Baird, an employee-owned, international wealth management, capital markets, private equity and asset management firm, today announced that it has completed a $5.945 million bond issue for the Mukwonago Area School District in Mukwonago, Wis. $4.3 million of the bonds issued by the District are Qualified School Construction Bonds (QSCBs) created under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which carry a 0% interest rate. The Mukwonago Area School District is only the seventh school district in the state to issue QSCBs.

In addition to the $4.3 million of QSCBs, the District also issued $1.6 million of General Obligation Refunding Bonds, which carry an interest rate of 2.61%. Proceeds from the borrowings will be used to fund projects from the 2007 referendum and restructure debt. By issuing the QSCBs, the District potentially will save $950,000 in future interest expense.

“Baird is pleased to have helped the Mukwonago Area School District complete this bond issue,” said Lisa Voisin, Director in Baird’s Public Finance group, and lead advisor on the financing. “The District wanted to evaluate all financing sources, and the bonds available under the stimulus plan allow them to pay for the projects at a significant future cost savings for taxpayers.”

Darren Clark, District Business Administrator added, “Our goal is to obtain financing at the lowest cost possible for the referendum projects that taxpayers approved in 2007.”

Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, school districts are eligible to issue QSCBs through 2010 for new construction, rehabilitation or repair of public school facilities, purchase of related equipment or new land for future construction. When issuing QSCBs the lender receives a “tax credit” to offset Federal taxes, effectively providing a 0% interest loan.

About Baird’s Public Finance Group
Baird is a major underwriter and financial advisor to municipalities, schools, government agencies and corporations. During the past five years, Baird has served as senior manager, co-manager or financial advisor for debt issues totaling $79 billion. Ipreo MuniAnalytics ranks Baird as the number one national managing underwriter for small issues and the number one national managing underwriter for competitive issues of $100 million or less for the first half of 2009. Baird was honored as advisor of the “Midwest Regional Deal of the Year” by The Bond Buyer in 2007.

About Baird
Baird is an employee-owned, international wealth management, capital markets, private equity and asset management firm with offices in the United States, Europe and Asia. Established in 1919, Baird has more than 2,400 associates serving the needs of individual, corporate, institutional and municipal clients. Baird oversees and manages client assets of more than $66 billion. Committed to being a great place to work, Baird ranked number 14 on the FORTUNE’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” in 2009 -- its sixth consecutive year on the list. Baird’s principal operating subsidiaries are Robert W. Baird & Co. in the United States and Robert W. Baird Group Ltd. in Europe. Baird also has an operating subsidiary in Asia supporting Baird’s private equity operations. For more information, please visit Baird’s Web site at www.rwbaird.com.