A range of investors have provided $400m for a secondary share purchase for Dream Sports, the India-based creator of fantasy sports app Dream11 that counts internet group Tencent as an investor, TechCrunch reported yesterday.
Growth equity firm TCV, investment firm D1 Capital Partners and alternative asset manager Falcon Edge Capital’s Alpha Wave unit co-led the round, which included ChrysCapital, Footpath Ventures, Steadview Capital, Tiger Global and TPG Growth.
The identity of the selling shareholders has not been revealed but Avendus Capital was financial adviser on the transaction.
Dream11 is an esports platform that hosts online cricket, basketball, football and kabaddi matches where players can form virtual teams and compete against each other to win prizes. Dream Sports also owns game score streaming service FanCode and sports-focused accelerator DreamX.
The company’s valuation now stands at almost $5bn, doubling the figure revealed for a $225m primary and secondary round in September 2020 featuring ChrysCapital, Footpath Ventures, Tiger Global Management and TPG’s Tech Adjacencies subsidiary.
Steadview Capital made a $60m secondary investment in the company 2019, purchasing shares from Think Investments, Kalaari Capital and Multiples Equity, all three having returned as existing investors to back a $100m series D round led by Tencent the year before at a $700m valuation.
Dream Sports CEO and co-founder Harsh Jain said: “This is a huge vote of confidence to the Indian startup ecosystem. We have created the fantasy sports category in India to drive digital engagement to real-life sporting events and bring fans closer to the sport they love. We are proud to continually contribute to the overall expansion of the Indian sports ecosystem.”
