With every man and his dog now seeming to see the benefits of securitization, it was probably only a matter of time before the computer games industry got in on the act.
It was announced last week that the giant Japanese software company Konami, along with its subsidiary KCE Tokyo, is all set to securitize some of the proceeds from one of its future games, Tokimeki Memorial 3. Proceeds from the deal will go towards developing new software.
Konami has teamed up with the Internet brokers Monex and arranger Mizuho Securities to get the deal off the ground. Mizuho has established a fund, which could reach up to 1.2 billion ($10 million deal) from the first six months of games revenues, while Monex will target individual investors on the net.
Due to the relatively small scale of the deal, it will be broken into individual bonds worth 10,000 in order to appeal to retail investors, particularly those that buy computer games. Quite how this will work in practice is anyone's guess - you wouldn't usually identify the video game clientele as buyers of securitized bonds - but all three counterparties are hopeful that Konami's credos in the market will prove a selling point.
Monex will be marketing and selling the bonds from now until December 20. The bonds are scheduled to mature in 2003, although early redemption of the notes may take place as early as October 2002.
