DraftKings, a US-based daily fantasy sports platform backed by a host of corporates, has raised more than $100m in a series E1 round, Bloomberg has reported.
The round was led by Eldridge Industries, the investment firm owned by Todd L. Boehly, a part owner of baseball franchise the Los Angeles Dodgers. DraftKings confirmed to Bloomberg it had raised funding and the amount was revealed by people familiar with the matter.
DraftKings operates one of the two biggest daily fantasy sports platforms by market share and agreed a merger with its chief rival, FanDuel, in November 2016 that is awaiting regulatory approval.
Interestingly, FanDuel is also in the process of raising funding prior to the deal’s closure, according to Axios.
The series E1 round took DraftKings’ total funding to about $630m since it was founded in 2012, with the company raising approximately $75m from backers including Raine Partners, Atlas Venture, GGV Capital, BDS Ventures and Redpoint Ventures before securing $300m in 2015.
Fox Sports, part of media group 21st Century Fox, led the $300m series D round, which featured professional sports leagues Major League Baseball, National Hockey League and Major League Soccer as well as conglomerate Kraft Group, Atlas Venture and Raine Group.
Growth equity firm Revolution Growth subsequently led a $153m series E round in September 2016 that supposedly valued DraftKings at a good deal less than the $2bn valuation at which it closed the 2015 round.