(Bloomberg) -- Fanatics Inc. is in discussions to facilitate the sale of employee shares at a discounted valuation of $25 billion for the entire business.
The company, which sells licensed merchandise and collectibles to sports fans, is discussing a tender offer of between $75 million and $100 million at a roughly 19% discount to the valuation it obtained in a December 2022 funding round, a person with knowledge of the situation said, declining to be identified discussing confidential information.
Terms of the tender could change and the transaction could fall apart.
“We are responding to incoming interest in our shares from numerous investors who are looking to increase their ownership in Fanatics,” a Fanatics spokesperson said. “And given we don’t need capital due to the strength of our businesses and balance sheet, we are giving our existing employees an opportunity for a certain amount of liquidity at a $25 billion valuation if they so choose.”
Fanatics’ most-recent funding round included investors such as Clearlake Capital Group, LionTree, Silver Lake, Fidelity Management & Research Co. and SoftBank Group Corp.
The company, led by Michael Rubin, has licensing agreements with leagues including the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL, and has expanded into sports betting.
Fanatics is projected to deliver $8 billion in revenue in 2024, a 15% increase from last year, the spokesperson said.
(Updates with comments from Fanatics spokesperson.)
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