LOS ANGELES -- Despite a recent cautionary notice, a letter-of-credit provider did not announce an accelerated payoff Friday on a $82 million Sun Valley Public Improvement Corp. bond issue that funded a road through undeveloped land west of Phoenix.
The Sun Valley assessment lien refunding bonds, Series 1987A, can become immediately due and payable if the letter-of-credit provider declares a default in connection with a complex reimbursement agreement tied to the transaction.
That agreement involves Bank of America, which provides bondholder protection with a direct-pay, irrevocable letter of credit, and Heron Financial Corp., part of a London-based conglomerate. Heron Financial guaranteed repayment of any draws made by the letter-of-credit provider.
On July 10, lawyers for the improvement corporation and Maricopa County said they had been advised that "an event of default may have occurred" and may be continuing under the reimbursement agreement. The guarantors have not disclosed details on developments that may have triggered a possible default under their agreement.
A notice the lawyers prepared said the possible default under the reimbursement agreement required action by the close of business in London on July 30, 1992.
Otherwise, the statement says, Bank of America "may deliver a written notice, effective as of July 31, 1992, that an 'event of default' has occurred and is continuing under the pertinent indenture pertaining to the [Sun Valley] bonds."
But by late Friday, the possible effective date mentioned in the lawyers' statement, no default notice had been issued to trigger the acceleration.
"We have received correspondence from Bank of America that we will not receive a notice of default [on Friday]," said a spokesman for First Interstae Bank of Arizona, trustee for the Sun Valley bonds.
Participants in the transaction declined to comment further. But they stressed declaration of a default under the reimbursement agreement could still occur.
The bonds would become immediately due and payable if Bank of America gave the default notice. First Interstate would be required to draw against Bank of America's letter of credit for the full amount of principal and accrued interest on the bonds.
The July 10 statement stressed that the lawyers could not determine "if the actual default notice will be given or the timing of such notice."
Private supporters of the bond-funded road pitched the financing idea to Maricopa County in the mid-1980s.
County supervisors supported the deal partly because private assessments on undeveloped land would cover the financing and the county would not be liable for repayment of the Sun Valley bonds.
But many landowners failed to make assessment payments after the local real estate market soured. That led to the involvement of the financial guarantors.
