Tottenham's stadium debt was refinanced through the club's first bond sale in U.S. private placement marketsGETTY IMAGES
EPL club Tottenham Hotspur raised $655M (all figures U.S.) by refinancing a $795M loan that helped fund the construction of the team's $1.25B London stadium, which opened in April. Tottenham Hotspur Stadium's debt was refinanced through the club's first bond sale in U.S. private placement markets. The bond issuance and sale was primarily arranged by Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML), with HSBC acting as the co-placement agent. The proceeds will be used to repay the short-term bank debt which was raised during the construction phase of the stadium from BAML, Goldman Sachs and HSBC. Tottenham also has a connection to the U.S. sports market; in exchange for $12.8M from the NFL, Tottenham agreed to configure the stadium for two American football games a year and a fee every time the league uses the 62,000-seat venue. The venue is the largest currently in use in the EPL. To complete the refinancing deal, Tottenham obtained a strong investment grade credit rating from two agencies, along with a $140M term loan from BAML and a revolving line of credit from HSBC. The refinancing deal puts the stadium bonds' average maturity at 23 years and extends the longest debt maturities to 30 years. The weighted average coupon on the refinanced bonds has a 2.66% interest rate.
ATTRACTIVE OPPORTUNITY: The bond sale attracted "several highly established international institutional investors," according to a BAML statement. "The management team of THFC continue to position the Club for long term success by growing the brand through ongoing investment, particularly in relation to the iconic new stadium," said Elliott McCabe, Managing Dir of BAML's Sports Finance & Advisory Group. "This is reflected in the strong market reception met by Tottenham Hotspur as a first-time issuer in the Private Placement market."
