Fanatics Raises $325M in Latest Funding Round

Fanatics has nearly tripled in value over the last year, and now — after a C-suite reshuffle — it’s looking into new lines of business.

The sports merchandise company raised $325 million from Major League Baseball, SoftBank, Roc Nation, Jay-Z, Silver Lake, and others at an $18 billion valuation, according to people familiar with the matter.

Fanatics, founded in 1995, has seen its valuation soar over the past year.

• In March, it raised $320 million at a $12.8 billion valuation.
• In August 2020, it raised $350 million at a $6.2 billion valuation.
• Softbank invested $1 billion in Fanatics in 2017 at a $4.5 billion valuation. The NFL and MLB joined the round with around $95 million and $50 million, respectively.
• Fanatics has raised about $2.2 billion total.

Fanatics partners with all the major U.S. sports leagues on e-commerce and owns the NFT company Candy Digital.

Now it has its sights set on sports betting, gaming, ticketing, and media. In June, it hired former FanDuel CEO Matt King to run its betting operations. Chairman Michael Rubin is stepping into the CEO role, while current CEO Doug Mack will continue to oversee the company’s e-commerce division.

Former Los Angeles Dodgers president Tucker Kain is joining as chief strategy and growth officer, and Glenn Schiffman, who recently left as CFO of investment company IAC, will take the same role at Fanatics.