The Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ MassDirect Notes Program Recognized by Bond Buyer

Attorneys from the Public Finance Section of Mintz Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo PC served as bond counsel for the 2014 Bond Buyer Deal of the Year  awarded to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for its MassDirect Notes program.   The Commonwealth was honored at the 13th annual Deal of the Year event on December 4 in New York City. The deal was recognized by the Bond Buyer as the Non-Traditional Financing Deal of the Year and beat out winners in seven other categories to be named the overall Deal of the Year.

Mintz Members John Regier and Mike Solet served as counsel and disclosure counsel to the Commonwealth on the MassDirect Notes program, a  first-of-its-kind “rolling offering” finance program that offers general obligation bonds directly to retail investors on a rolling monthly basis through an inter-dealer electronic trading platform involving hundreds of brokerage firms. The Mintz team, which also included attorney Poonam Patidar,  developed template documentation under which binding sales of bonds may be made to retail investors each day during a two-week period in every month, with a single closing each month.  The program was launched in March of this year. 

“We congratulate our client, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts on receiving this well-deserved honor,” said Meghan B. Burke, head of the Public Finance Section and Chair of the Mintz’s Education Practice.  “This program continues the Commonwealth’s long-held dedication to providing innovative ways to make Massachusetts bonds available to investors.”

Mintz has been a recognized national leader in public finance for more than 30 years. The firm represents issuers, conduit borrowers, underwriters, credit enhancers, and other market participants in tax-exempt bond financings, including initial issuance in the public and private placement markets. We also advise buyers and holders of tax-exempt bonds and their trustees as well as market participants on related matters, such as synthetic or derivative financial products, post-issuance compliance with tax and securities laws, legislative drafting and monitoring, and general financing matters.