2016 Deal of the Year: Midwest Region

Who won this year's Deal of the Year award for the Midwest Region? The winner will be honored on Thursday, December 1 at 583 Park Avenue in Manhattan, and later that night will compete with winners in the seven other categories for the right to be named The Bond Buyer's 2016 Deal of the Year.

VOICE OVER: Looking to streamline its market access as a major capital program got underway, Ohio State University turned to a corporate-like structure in its filing of a $1 billion shelf registration which was tapped for $600 million sale in March. The use of the shelf registration, which is believed to be a first for such a structure in the municipal market, established a base offering statement, streamlining the state flagship university's market access by allowing it to move quickly on deals to take advantage of favorable conditions or when project cash is needed while also keeping issuance costs down.

The university retains flexibility to use a range of structures that meet its needs and prevailing market demand under the borrowing templates included in the registration. They permit the use of floating, fixed, tax-exempt, and taxable structures through the registration period that runs through June 30th, 2017. As part of this innovative initiative, the Buckeyes coordinated with the state's Department of Higher Education on the framework and reviewed with the rating agencies and its auditor's protocols for expedited review, and revamped its own disclosure practices to provide voluntary quarterly updates.