Film Academy Bond Gets Investment Grade

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, purveyor of the Academy Awards, received an investment-grade rating from Moody’s Investors Service for a $35-million bond issue expected July 25.

Proceeds from the tax-exempt bonds will fund renovation of a Hollywood building that will house the Academy’s film archive, officials said.

Moody’s assigned an Aa3 rating for the Academy’s variable-rate debt, which will be backed by revenue from the awards show. Earlier, Standard & Poor’s gave the deal a AA-minus rating.<