The Boards of Trustees for 10 Morgan Stanley Closed-End Municipal Funds,
each a registered closed-end investment company (the “Funds”),
have approved an additional round of refinancing through the use of
Tender Option Bonds (TOBs) that would enable each Fund to redeem a
portion of the shares of one or more series of each Fund’s
outstanding auction rate preferred shares (“ARPS”).
Specifically, the Board of each Fund approved the use of TOBs to
refinance up to an additional 20 percent of each Fund’s
ARPS leverage, on top of the original 30 percent that was announced in
April, subject to acceptable terms and the availability of municipal
bonds and liquidity providers as set forth below. The Board of each Fund
believes that in light of the continued failed auctions, it is
appropriate for the Funds to continue to seek other sources of leverage.
This additional approval follows the Company’s
July 11, 2008 and August 22, 2008 press releases in which Morgan Stanley
provided information regarding approximately $233.20 million in
refinancing of the Funds’ outstanding ARPS
with TOBs.
The specific funds are as follows: Morgan Stanley Insured Municipal
Trust (NYSE: IMT); Morgan Stanley Insured Municipal Bond Trust (NYSE:
IMC); Morgan Stanley Insured Municipal Income Trust (NYSE: IIM); Morgan
Stanley California Insured Municipal Income Trust (NYSE: IIC); Morgan
Stanley Quality Municipal Income Trust (NYSE: IQI); Morgan Stanley
Quality Municipal Investment Trust (NYSE: IQT); Morgan Stanley Quality
Municipal Securities (NYSE: IQM); Morgan Stanley California Quality
Municipal Securities (NYSE: IQC); Morgan Stanley New York Quality
Municipal Securities (NYSE: IQN); and Morgan Stanley Municipal Premium
Income Trust (NYSE: PIA).
TOBs are derivative securities created by placing high quality municipal
bonds into a trust arrangement and, in exchange, each respective Fund
receives cash and a residual interest security (sometimes referred to as
an “inverse floater”)
issued by the trust. The trust then issues securities (sometimes
referred to as “floaters”),
which are purchased by third parties and which pay interest rates that
reset weekly based on a short-term index rate. These floater securities,
once purchased, can be tendered back by the holder to a liquidity
provider at par. The Funds would continue to earn the interest from the
bonds that comprise the trust, less the interest paid to the holders of
the floaters and any fees associated with the transaction. Additionally,
the Funds would use the cash received from the municipal bonds placed in
the trust and from the issuance of the floaters for investment purposes.