FanDuel, a US-based daily fantasy sports platform backed by several media groups, has raised $55m in convertible note financing from existing investors, the Wall Street Journal has reported.
The financing has been raised in the past few months. FanDuel’s existing backers include internet and technology conglomerate Alphabet and media companies Time Warner and NBCUniversal, the latter a subsidiary of mass media group Comcast which is also a FanDuel investor.
FanDuel operates a fantasy sports platform that allows players to form teams and bet money on a single round of results in a competition. Like its main rival DraftKings, which raised $153m earlier this month, it has encountered numerous regulatory problems in the past year.
The company had previously raised $363m in funding, including $275m in a July 2015 series E round that valued it at more than $1bn.
The series E funding came from Alphabet unit Google Capital; Turner Sports and Time Warner Investments, which are both Time Warner subsidiaries; NBC Sports Ventures and Comcast Ventures, which are both part of Comcast; Shamrock Capital, Bullpen Capital, Pentech Ventures, Piton Capital and the owners of unnamed NFL and NBA teams.
Comcast Ventures led FanDuel’s $11m series C round in 2013 before returning for a $70m round the following year that included NBC Sports Ventures, Shamrock Capital Advisors, Bullpen Capital, Pentech Ventures and KKR.