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Fanatics raises $350M in Series E funding round & is now worth $6.2B

Date: August 14, 2020 Sunil Jha Sunil Jha
Fanatics raises $350M in Series E funding round & is now worth $6.2B 
Fanatics, Inc., an American online retailer of sports equipment, sportswear, and merchandise has reportedly raised USD 350 million in Series E funding round, which pushes the company’s valuation to a massive USD 6.2 billion.



Sources cite that the company was aiming to raise the only USD 250 million in this financing round. However, the company’s exceptional performance during this year despite the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted investors to pour in more funds. The web retailer’s business increased by thirty percent in the present year despite no major sports being conducted in nearly five months.



The funding round was led by Thrive Capital, Fidelity with involvement from Neuberger Berman and Franklin Templeton. Goldman Sachs was the exclusive placement agent for the transaction.



The two major leagues- Major Leagues Baseball and National Football League benefited from the firm’s increased valuation. In 2017, both these leagues invested USD 150 million in Fanatics mutually. As a result of the new funding, these leagues now enjoy USD 100 million equity increase in their holdings in Fanatics.



Fanatics with the help of additional rights acquisition, mergers, and acquisitions will aim for new findings to speed up its v-commerce strategy. The investment round for Fanatic is the final investment as a private enterprise. The next announcement by the company is assumed to be an IPO, though there is no timeline.



Fanatics’ prior investment amounted to USD 1 billion, driven by SoftBank, which closed in 2017 and priced the firm at $4.5 billion. 



Billionaire Michael Rubin’s Fanatics has been the leading power in approved sportswear. It is an approved e-commerce affiliate with all five U.S. leagues — including increasingly successful deals like Nike with the NFL which MLB — which runs retail shops for more than 300 collegiate and pro sports teams.

 



Source Credit - https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/13/fanatics-valued-62-billion-350-million-funding-round.html

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Sunil Jha

Sunil Jha has been a part of the content industry for close to two years. Having previously worked as a voice over artist and sportswriter, he now focuses on writing articles for newsorigins.com, across a slew of topics, ranging from technology to trade and finance. With a business-oriented educational background, Sunil brings forth the expertise of deep-dive research and a strategic approach in his write ups.