On September 8, 2016, Midpen sold approximately $57.5 million in green bonds to refinance existing bond debt. Taking advantage of today’s very low interest rates, the financing resulted in $15.7 million in debt cost savings, which will allow Midpen to pay off the bonds three years early.
For the first time in the District’s history, the bonds were sold as green bonds, a relatively new category in the municipal bond market that supports environmentally beneficial purposes. In another first, the bonds were made available to the local retail market, with residents of San Mateo and Santa Clara counties purchasing 15 percent of the bonds.
On August 18, 2016, the District received AAA credit ratings from both Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor’s.