The Museum Development Authority of Seattle, Washington, sold $18.3 million in bonds to refund previously issued securities.
The bonds mature between 2025 and 2031, yielding between 2.99% and 3.06%. They pay interest at 5%. The securities received a rating of AAA from S&P Global Ratings.
The authority will use the issuance proceeds to achieve debt service savings by refunding bonds that it sold in 2014. Those bonds had been issued to refund bonds that the authority sold in 2005 to finance the expansion of the Seattle Art Museum (SAM), which it owns.
The issuance comes ahead of the museum’s inauguration of a new CEO. In June, SAM announced that Scott Stulen, currently the CEO of the Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa, Oklahoma, would take over the museum’s leadership in August. SAM’s previous CEO, Amanda Cruz, left last year.
The city of Seattle chartered the Museum Development Authority in 1985 to facilitate the development and operation of public art museums. The bonds are special limited obligations of the authority, secured by its revenue.
Raymond James & Associates, Inc served as underwriter on the issuance, purchasing the bonds for $19.6 million. The price reflected a premium of almost $1.4 million. PFM Financial Advisors LLC acted as municipal advisor.