Transaction Details

Winnebago County Forest Preserve District

Municipal

Lead Bookrunner

On May 28, 2025, Baird served as sole underwriter on the negotiated sale of Winnebago County Forest Preserve District’s $1,905,000 General Obligation Limited Tax Bonds, Series 2025 which carried an “Aa2” Moody’s rating. The District initially had the bonds set up for a competitive sale, but due to market volatility and the policy uncertainty out of Washington, the District decided to switch to a negotiated method of sale to get the best execution. Baird was engaged as a result of a competitive RFP process to serve as the District’s negotiated underwriter. Baird Implemented a 2-day marketing strategy to give investors ample time to review the credit in a fluctuating market environment. We also implemented a one-hour order period instead of the typical 90-minute order period to minimize volatility and to protect the District from market risk. As a result of our marketing efforts, Baird received $4,345,000 in orders (2.3x the par amount) with oversubscriptions in the final four maturities by up to 3x.  Because of the oversubscriptions, Baird was able to tighten (lower) interest rates in two maturities by 3 basis points (0.03%). These price adjustments from pre-marketing lowered the District’s borrowing cost by $7,600 or 5 basis points (0.05%).  The transaction had a true interest cost of 3.60% over the 7-year term. The Bonds generated $2 million in proceeds to finance capital improvements throughout the District.