Fanatics Founder / CEO Michael Rubin attends the Fanatics Super Bowl Party at the College Football Hall of Fame on February 2, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Mike Coppola Getty Images
Michael Rubin’s fanatics have raised $ 1.5 billion in a new round of funding, which the sports platform company estimates at $ 27 billion. The company was recently valued at $ 18 billion less than a year ago.
His latest round of funding includes new investors Fidelity, BlackRock and MSD Partners of Michael Dell, as well as existing investors. The investment was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. A source familiar with the deal confirmed the details to CNBC.
A Fanatics spokesman declined to comment.
Rubin, co-owner of the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils, started the Jacksonville, Florida-based company in 2011. That same year, he sold eBay’s e-commerce business for $ 2.4 billion, bought back parts of it and acquired Fanatics – which it was then a retail operation with two stores. Fanatics already has exclusive licensing deals with the NFL, NHL, NBA, Major League Baseball and numerous colleges and universities to manufacture and sell T-shirts, hats and tons of other official goods for the team.
Earlier this year, the company acquired Topps trading cards for $ 500 million. The trading card company Fanatics is valued at $ 10 billion after a round of $ 350 million in funding last September. Rubin called Topps an iconic brand in a statement announcing the move.
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