TICKET DEAL FOR SOCCER CLUB

A professional soccer team in England is working with Pullman Group to raise $50 million by securitizing its expected ticket sales along with other future cashflows.

Pullman Group wouldn't identify the issuer, but described it as one of England's better-known teams.

The privately placed issue should hit the market by yearend, said David Pullman, whose firm is arranging the deal.  He said the deal will be backed primarily by box-office receipts, but the collateral pol will include some advertising and licensing revenues.

To date, only one soccer team has securitized ticket sales, though there's been talk of others doing the same.  In December, underwriter Merrill Lunch helped Fiorentina, a team in Florence, Italy, sell 67.5 billion lira ($41 million) of unrated securities backed by its expected ticket sales.

In 1997, there was talk of Newcastle United, a publicly owned British soccer team, securitizing future receivables from ticket sales.  But there was never any confirmation that the deal was completed.

Asset-Backed Alert, June 7, 1999