By Krystal Hu
(Reuters) – U.S. sports platform Fanatics has raised $700 million in a new financing round led by private equity firm Clearlake Capital, valuing Fanatics at $31 billion, sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
LionTree and existing investors Fidelity, Sliver Lake and Softbank also participated in the round, the sources said, a major raise in the slowing venture capital market for late-stage private companies. The capital raised will be used to fund acquisitions, the sources added.
It marks another investment in the sports field by Clearlake Capital Group, a Santa Monica, California-based investment firm that partially owns Chelsea Football Club.
With the raise, Fanatics will end the year with more than $2 billion in cash, and is expected to generate $8 billion in revenue in 2023, said the sources, who declined to be named after discussing private companies’ financials.
Earlier this year, Fanatics acquired the trading cards and collectibles business of Topps for $500 million, accelerating its plan to launch a sports cards trading business by owning rights with leagues.
Founded by Michael Rubin, Fanatics has expanded from a sports retailer to a digital sports giant with cards trading and sports betting business. It has raised nearly $5 billion in equity from investors to date, according to Crunchbase data.
Fanatics has said it plans to launch a sports betting and gaming platform for the upcoming football season in major U.S. states in the first quarter.
(Reporting by Krystal Hu; Editing by Leslie Adler)
