WSJ: Fanatics Trading Cards Valuation Rises to $10.4 Billion as New Firm Aims to Expand Its Reach
The new trading card venture launched by Fanatics Inc., which just last month upended the industry with a series of surprise deals, has received $350 million in Series A funding that values the firm at $10.4 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.
The investments, which account for approximately 3.4% of the entity called Fanatics Trading Cards, come from a trio of investors: private-equity firm Silver Lake, entertainment giant Endeavor Group Holdings Inc., and Insight Partners, a private-equity and venture-capital firm.
The company’s rapid rise to a $10 billion valuation in a manner of weeks reflects what it sees as the potential to transform the decades-old—yet suddenly booming—trading card business to benefit both the rights holders and collectors, these people said. Those plans involve being not just the primary seller of trading cards, but also capturing a chunk of an exploding resale market in which card traders have driven prices to record heights…