Brooklyn Arena Sells $511 Million in Tax-Exempt Bonds

Dec. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Brooklyn Arena Local Development
Corp., the state arm created to help finance a new basketball
facility in New York City, sold $511 million of tax-exempt bonds
at yields lower than a comparably rated deal last week.

Bonds due in 2040 paying 6.25 percent interest were priced
to yield 6.35 percent, 65 basis points less than a comparable
maturity issued by Texas Private Activity Bond Surface
Transportation Corp. last week, according to data compiled by
Bloomberg. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point.

Forest City Ratner Cos., which is developing the Barclays
Center arena to anchor its Atlantic Yards development in
Brooklyn, sought to meet a year-end Internal Revenue Service
deadline to keep tax-exempt financing as part of the project. Bruce Ratner, chairman and chief executive of the developer,
which has an ownership interest in the National Basketball
Association’s New Jersey Nets, plans to move the team to the $1
billion, 18,000-seat facility in 2012.