Fast-food chain operator Church's Chicken issued a $245 million asset-backed security Friday, according to a person familiar with the matter, the first so-called whole-business securitization based on restaurant revenue since the credit crisis.

The bond, Church's Chicken's first asset-backed deal, is supported by franchise fees as well as operating profits from company-owned stores. On its website, Church's said that as of March 2010, it had more than 1,700 locations worldwide in 22 countries, with system sales approaching $1.2 billion.

This type of whole business securitization based on revenue from restaurant chains is unusual and was last seen in 2007. Previous issuers include Dunkin Brands Inc., which is owned by the private-equity groups Bain Capital LLC, Carlyle Group LP and Thomas H. Lee Partners; Sonic Corp. (SONC); Domino's Pizza Inc. (DPZ); as well as IHOP Franchising and Applebee's Enterprises LLC, both owned by DineEquity Inc. (DIN).

Barclays Capital is the lead on the Church's transaction, being issued via Cajun Global LLC, a newly formed company. Church's, which is based in Sandy Springs, Ga., is owned by Friedman Fleischer & Lowe, a private-equity firm in San Francisco.

Investors are looking for higher-yielding bonds backed by unusual collateral such as franchise fees, timeshare receivables and drug patents rather than bonds where loans for vehicles and student loans have been packaged for sale.

Such so-called esoteric or off-the-run bonds traditionally attracted only a small group of investors, but these days even insurance companies and pension funds are buying them as they need to diversify their holdings and earn more on their investments.

On Dec. 3, Adams Outdoor Advertising LP priced its $355 million billboard revenue-backed bond via the private Rule 144a market. The largest tranche, valued at $253.75 million, priced to yield 5.5%.

By contrast, an auto-loan-backed deal from Santander Drive Auto Receivables Trust priced earlier Friday to yield only 1.491%.

The performance of whole business securitizations backed by restaurant franchise payments, such as the Church's Chicken bond, has been "stable," note Moody's Investors Service analysts in a note. These haven't suffered during the economic downturn because they experienced "milder customer traffic declines than did the more expensive fine dining and casual dining industry segments," the analysts note.

That said, high unemployment "continues to pressure restaurant traffic, as consumers pull back discretionary spending, including restaurant meals."

It is unusual to announce a new asset-backed bond on a Friday, but this way the deal is likely to be discussed during the ABS industry's biggest event of the year, the American Securitization Forum's conference scheduled to begin in Orlando, Fla., on Sunday.

Other issuers this week included Ally Financial Inc. with a $1.06 billion auto-loan-backed security.

-By Anusha Shrivastava, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2227; anusha.shrivastava@dowjones.com