Transaction Details

City of West Columbia

Municipal

Lead Bookrunner

The City of West Columbia, located in Lexington County, lies just across the Congaree River from downtown Columbia, the capital of South Carolina, and forms part of the Columbia Metropolitan Statistical Area. The City owns and operates its own water and sewer utility system, which serves residents both within and outside of city limits. As a growing municipality with a commitment to high-quality infrastructure, West Columbia continues to invest in long-term utility upgrades to meet the evolving needs of its residents and partners.

On June 5, 2025, Baird served as sole managing underwriter to the City of West Columbia, South Carolina (the “City”) on its $33,410,000 Water and Sewer System Improvement Revenue Bonds, Series 2025 (the “Bonds”). The Bonds were issued to redeem the City’s 2024 Bond Anticipation Notes, pay costs associated with the issuance of the Series 2025 Bonds, and fund key components of the City’s capital improvement program through the 2025 Construction Funds. The net proceeds of the Bonds will support a broad infrastructure investment initiative including expansion and improvements to the City’s water treatment facilities; upgrades to the wastewater treatment and collection system, including shared facilities with the City of Columbia; and system-wide capital improvements such as design, acquisition, replacement, rehabilitation, and construction of various utility infrastructure.

Despite a challenging credit and market backdrop, Baird executed a highly successful marketing and pricing strategy. We saw strong demand across the curve with healthy subscription levels across the maturity spectrum, with particularly strong investor interest at the long end of the curve with the 2050 maturity 7x oversubscribed and the 2055 maturity 10x oversubscribed. The strong demand allowed for repricing 7 basis points tighter on the 2050 and 2055 maturities, with the 2055 maturity pricing through the coupon at a yield of 4.98%. The remainder of the curve saw books ranging from 1x to 5x, enabling repricing 2-5 basis points tighter where demand was strongest.

Both the City and its Municipal Advisor expressed appreciation for Baird’s strategic approach, flexibility, and strong execution in navigating a challenging credit and market environment.