BOND PURCHASE AGREEMENT

A legally binding document between a bond issuer and an underwriter establishing the terms of a bond sale. The terms of a bond purchase agreement will include sale conditions, sale price, bond interest rate, bond maturity, bond redemption provisions, sinking fund provisions and conditions under which the agreement may be canceled. After the issuer delivers the bonds to the underwriter and the underwriter pays the issuer for them, the underwriter will put the bonds on the market at the price and yield established in the bond purchase agreement and investors will purchase the bonds from the underwriter. The underwriter collects the proceeds from this sale and earns a profit based on the difference between the price at which it purchased the bonds and the price at which it sells the bonds.

A bond purchase agreement has many conditions. For example, it should require that the issuer not take on any other debt secured by the same assets that will secure the bonds the underwriter is selling, and it should require that the issuer notify the underwriter of any adverse change in the issuer's financial position. The bond purchase agreement also guarantees that the issuer is who it says it is, that it is authorized to issue bonds, that it is not the subject of a lawsuit and that its financial statements are accurate.