US: Texas airport facility borrows for first time since Covid

For investors betting on air travel’s comeback, the municipal-bond-market is ready for you. A rental car facility at the airport in one of America’s biggest boomtowns is selling bonds, the first such debt offering of its kind since the pandemic began. The Austin, Texas facility refinanced about $147m of bonds to help ease debt service payments -- giving it more than enough breathing room to stay afloat until the pandemic is over. “Now there’s more of a consensus that this part of the economy has made it through a challenging time,” said Daniel Solender, director of tax-free fixed income for Lord, Abbett & Co., which is looking at the Austin deal. “Now there’s an end in sight. Definitely optimism.” Final pricing for the Austin deal came in with yields between 50 basis points and 160 basis points above Treasuries, reflecting stronger demand for the earlier-maturity debt and weaker demand for securities with the longest due dates, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That’s compared with preliminary pricing wires reflecting spreads between 55 basis points and 130 basis points.<br/>