Fanatics, a US-based sports goods vendor that counts internet and telecommunications group SoftBank and e-commerce firm Alibaba as backers, has raised $320m, CNBC reported yesterday.
Sporting league manager Major League Baseball (MLB) and financial services and investment group Fidelity Investments took part in the round, as did Franklin Templeton, Neuberger Berman, Silver Lake and Thrive Capital.
Founded in 2002, Fanatics sells sports memorabilia and collectibles both online and in physical stores covering professional leagues such as MLB, Major League Soccer, Nascar, National Basketball Association and National Football League (NFL).
A source privy to the matter told CNBC the money will be used to ramp up specialised market activities, identify merger and acquisition opportunities and increase Fanatics’ global presence. It launched a Chinese retail joint venture with investment firm Hillhouse Capital last month.
The company’s valuation in the latest round doubled to $12.8bn from a $350m series E round in August 2020 co-led by Fidelity and Thrive Capital and backed by Franklin Templeton and Neuberger Berman. It had used the proceeds to acquire peers including WinCraft.
SoftBank’s Vision Fund led a $1bn round for Fanatics in 2017, investing alongside MLB and NFL in a deal valuing it at $4.5bn.
Alibaba and Singaporean state-backed Temasek had jointly invested $170m in the company in 2013 at a $3.1bn valuation, Andreessen Horowitz and Insight Partners having backed a $150m round the year before.
Concerning plans on an initial public offering, Fanatics executive chairman Michael Rubin told CNBC this week: “I think going public is an option for us that we talk about a lot but it is not something we are focused on today.
“We are focused on building a business. But I think we are well-financed and have a lot of growth capital to continue to grow.”
