Investments · E-commerce (sports merchandise)
SoftBank Vision Fund leads $1 billion round in sports merchandise seller Fanatics
- Investor
- SoftBank Vision Fund (SoftBank Group) (Tokyo)
- In
- Fanatics, Jacksonville, Florida
- Value
- $1B round
- Status
- Reported on August 8, 2017; closed on about September 6, 2017.
- Date
- 2017-08-08
SoftBank Vision Fund led and provided most of a $1 billion round in Fanatics, a Jacksonville, Florida company that sells licensed sports merchandise online. First reports cited unnamed sources, and the round was confirmed when it closed in early September 2017. The National Football League and Major League Baseball also took part.
Why it matters
The round gave Fanatics money to grow outside the US, drawing on SoftBank's experience in Asia.
Valuation and use of funds
The round valued Fanatics at $4.5 billion, more than twice the $2 billion in revenue it expected that year. Chief executive Doug Mack said the money would fund expansion abroad and the hiring of engineers, data scientists and designers.
The business
Fanatics runs online stores for the NBA and NFL and licenses and sells team merchandise such as jerseys. Most of its business was in the US, with about 10% of sales abroad, including online sales for Manchester United and Real Madrid. Earlier in 2017 it bought VF Corporation's sports licensing unit, owner of the Majestic brand, for $225 million.
Sources
Kakehashi M&A News home
