For additional information, contact:
Marianne Foster, Public Relations Coordinator
Robert W. Baird & Co., Incorporated
414-298-1906
mfoster@rwbaird.com
MILWAUKEE, December 8, 2005 – A municipal finance deal arranged by the Public Finance Department at Robert W. Baird & Co. (Baird) was recently honored as the Midwest Regional Deal of the Year by The Bond Buyer. Baird served as Financial Advisor to the Detroit Retirement Systems Funding Trust for its $1.44 billion taxable certificate offering. The transaction was also one of five deals nominated by The Bond Buyer for its National Deal of the Year recognition.
“This award is another great testament to the creativity and tenacity Baird demonstrates in helping our clients meet their financing needs,” said Keith Kolb, Director of Baird Public Finance.
The Detroit Retirement Systems Funding Trust was Michigan’s first pension financing and the state’s largest municipal transaction on record. The offering enabled the city to have the flexibility to extend the amortization schedules upon receipt of local approval.
The challenge for Baird and the City of Detroit was to demonstrate the city’s clear authority to do the transaction, even though there is no single law that authorizes the transaction and there was no precedent in the state of Michigan for this kind of deal.
“This was undoubtedly the most complex transaction I’ve ever been involved with,” said Tom Gavin, Managing Director in Baird’s Naperville, Ill. Public finance office, who worked with city officials, advisors and Baird associates Stephan Roberts and Robert Lewis for about a year to close the deal at the end of May 2005. “The law allows all of the elements of the deal, but doesn’t combine them in one place, so we had to put those elements together to demonstrate the city’s clear authority.”
The Bond Buyer, which has a circulation of more than 3,600, is the only national daily newspaper committed to the municipal bond industry. Each year, the publication honors innovative offerings in the municipal finance market and names five Regional Deals of the Year. The national award winner was named at a dinner in New York on December 6.
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About Baird Public Finance
Baird is a major underwriter and financial advisor to municipalities, schools, government agencies and corporations. During the past five years, Baird has served as senior manager, co-manager or financial advisor for debt issues totaling $55 billion. In 2004, Baird ranked as the No. 1 underwriter in the Midwest for negotiated issues under $20 million; the No. 1 underwriter and financial advisor in Wisconsin, based on combined transaction volume; and the No. 4 underwriter nationwide for negotiated issues of $10 million or less, according to Thomson Financial Securities Data.
About Baird
Baird, established in 1919, is an employee-owned international wealth management, capital markets, private equity and asset management firm with offices in the United States, Europe and Asia. Baird’s principal operating subsidiaries are Robert W. Baird & Co. in the United States and Robert W. Baird Group Ltd. in Europe. Baird also has an operating subsidiary in Asia supporting Baird’s private equity operations.
Committed to being a great place to work, Baird is one of FORTUNE magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” in 2005 and was also included on the magazine’s 2004 list. Robert W. Baird & Co. is a member of the New York Stock Exchange and other principal exchanges and the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). Robert W. Baird Ltd., a member of the London Stock Exchange, and Granville Baird Capital Partners Ltd. are authorized and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Services Authority. For more information, please visit Baird’s Web site at www.rwbaird.com.
