- Goldman-led deal with corporate cusip priced at low spread
- BI analyst Kazatsky says the university is ‘too big to fail’
Harvard University — armed with a AAA credit rating and $50 billion endowment — sold $750 million in taxable bonds this week as buyers shrugged off recent controversies swirling around the school.
The debt priced at 47 basis points above similar-maturity Treasuries, compared to earlier price talk of 60 basis points. That’s one of the tightest spread of any 11-year investment-grade bond dating back to at least 2009, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be named because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly. The bonds rallied in secondary trading Wednesday morning, a further sign of strong investor appetite.
“There’s insatiable demand for premier names in the higher-ed space. Obviously Harvard would be one of those at the top of the tier,” said Chris Brigati, senior vice president at SWBC Investment Services, adding that the deal did “extremely well.”
Bloomberg Markets
By Amanda Albright and Danielle Moran
March 6, 2024