By Patrick Sheridan
The Alaska Railroad Corporation will sell $124 million of bonds to help finance a new passenger cruise ship terminal and dock facility in the city of Seward.
The Series 2025 Cruise Port Revenue Bond offering has maturities ranging from 2028 through 2054 and includes a term bonds, according to the roadshow document posted Wednesday on MuniOS.
Pricing is slated for the week of Aug. 11, with closing scheduled for Aug. 26.
Interest on the bonds is payable starting on Oct. 1 and again on April 1.
The securities are backed by a pledge of gross revenue from the cruise port facility, including dockage and service fees and facility charges. They are also backed by a pier usage agreement with Royal Caribbean Group, which includes minimum annual revenue guarantees.
Proceeds from the bonds will be used to replace the existing Seward cruise facility and build a new, approximately 68,500 square-foot cruise terminal, a guest transportation area for buses and shuttles, a new floating dock that includes two cruise ship berths, covered walkways for passengers and appropriate dredging.
Alaska Railroad Corporation is state-owned entity and carries both freight and passengers between Seward in the southern part of the state and Fairbanks in the interior, and serves three ocean ports. The corporation owns the Seward Port,a key terminal for cruise ships. Cruise lines that have historically served Seward include larger operators such as Royal Caribbean Group and smaller, more segmented brands. Alaska is now the fifth-largest region for cruise ships in the world, representing 5% of the global market in 2024, according to the roadshow document.
S&P Global Ratings has issued a BBB- ratings on the bonds.
BofA Securities and Wells Fargo Securities are the underwriters.
Write to Patrick Sheridan at patrick.sheridan@wsj.com
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