Wilentz Goldman & Spitzer issued the following announcement on Dec. 23.
A Wilentz-led public finance transaction for The Board of Education of the City of Newark has been named “Deal of the Year” by The Bond Buyer in the Environmental, Sustainability, and Governance/Green Financing category. The public finance team led by Everett M. Johnson served as bond counsel to The Board of Education in connection with the authorization and issuance of $93,905,000 School Energy Savings Obligation Refunding Bonds, Series 2021 (Sustainability Bonds).
The proceeds will fund energy conservation measures in 60 school buildings throughout the school district, upgrading classrooms with state-of-the-art light, heat, space air, and technology. The Newark Board of Education’s participation in the Energy Savings Improvement Program will save the District $120 million over 20 years. The energy savings generated from these improvements, together with all applicable rebates and savings resulting from power purchase agreements, will be sufficient to pay the principal and interest associated with the Bonds. In sum, this financing will result in upgraded facilities with no new taxes levied on the residents of the City of Newark. The bonds were also verified as Sustainability Bonds, which will finance both Green and Social Projects.
The Bond Buyer’s “Deal of the Year” award nominations result from a submission process. The winning transactions are selected by an editorial board, with consideration given to a range of factors, including: creativity, the ability to pull a complex transaction together under challenging conditions, the ability to serve as a model for other financings, and the public purpose for which a deal’s proceeds were used.
Original source can be found here.