Winnipeg Airports Authority Issues $250M in Bonds

On September 28, 2005, Winnipeg Airports Authority Inc. (WAA) completed its initial capital markets offering of debt securities, selling $250 million of airport revenue bonds by way of private placement to institutional investors across Canada. The bond issuance provides capital to finance Phase I of WAA's Airport Infrastructure Redevelopment Plan.

Prior to completion of the offering, WAA obtained a $220 million bridge and operating credit facility provided by CIBC, as administrative agent and lender, Royal Bank of Canada and TD Bank. Both the bonds and the credit facilities are secured under a Capital Markets Platform Master Trust Indenture.

The bonds will bear interest at 5.205 per cent and are due September 28, 2040 and will be repaid in semi-annual instalments, with interest payments commencing in 2006, and principal repayment commencing in 2010. The bond issue was underwritten by CIBC World Markets Inc., RBC Capital Markets Inc., TD Securities Inc. and Macquarie North America Ltd., and was rated A1 by Moody's and A by Standard & Poor's.

WAA was represented by Aikins, MacAulay & Thorvaldson LLP in Winnipeg with a team led by James Ferguson that included Colin Pewarchuk, Doug Sigurdson, Todd Thomson, KK Pinkowski, Peter Drazic and Steven Kohn (tax).

The underwriters were represented by Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP in Ottawa with a team that included Guy David, Hugh Cowan, Michael Boehm and Monte MacGregor (corporate finance and securities) and Carole Chouinard (tax). The lending syndicate was represented by Joel Scoler, Seán O'Neill and Justin Lapedus (business) and Gordon Sato (real property) of McCarthy Tétrault LLP in Toronto.