County of Brunswick
Broad investor demand supports the County of Brunswick's $40 million financing
Background
The County of Brunswick, North Carolina (the County), accessed the municipal bond market to finance construction of a new Health & Human Services/Emergency Operations Center, renovate and improve additional County facilities and refinance a portion of its outstanding 2015A bonds. The new four-story Health & Human Services/Emergency Operations Center is expected to bring together multiple County departments in a modern facility designed to better serve residents while strengthening emergency management capabilities.
To support these investments, the County issued $40 million of Limited Obligation Bonds, Series 2026. The bonds were structured as an installment financing and carried ratings of Aa1 from Moody's and AA+ from S&P.
Opportunity
The financing came to market during a period of broader weakness in both the municipal and U.S. Treasury markets, creating a more challenging environment for new issues. Despite these conditions, investor demand remained for high-quality, well-structured municipal credits offering attractive value.
The County's strong credit profile positioned the transaction to benefit from this selective demand. Achieving a successful outcome required disciplined pricing and active engagement with institutional investors throughout the marketing process.
Implementation
The transaction featured serial maturities from 2027 through 2043 and a 2046 term bond, providing investors with opportunities across the yield curve. Initial pricing was structured to encourage broad participation while maintaining flexibility as investor demand developed.
Baird worked with the financing team to market the bonds to a broad base of institutional investors. As the order book developed, pricing was selectively refined where investor demand was strongest while maintaining broad participation across the transaction, resulting in final yields ranging from 2.43% in 2027 to 3.75% in 2043, with the 2046 term bond pricing at a yield of 4.18%.
Results & Impact
The transaction generated strong institutional demand, with several maturities significantly oversubscribed, including the 2046 term bond at 5.1x, the 2031 maturity at 4.9x and the 2028 maturity at 4.1x. Strong demand supported targeted yield reductions of up to four basis points in the strongest portions of the order book.
Despite broader market weakness, the financing attracted broad institutional participation, helping the County successfully complete its financing and secure funding for critical capital improvements.
