PitchBook News - Fanatics scores $12.8B valuation

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The Daily Pitch: VC

March 25, 2021

Like our newsletter? The data comes from the PitchBook Platform — our data software for VC, PE and M&A

Today's Top Stories

Real estate market at a crossroads after mixed 2020 results

After displaying remarkable resilience early in the year, global real estate fundraising fell sharply in the second half of 2020. Investors closed fewer funds than in any year during the global financial crisis, and the amount of capital raised was the lowest since 2013.

As the world transitions out of the pandemic, the real estate sector must recover from short-term disruptions and adjust to long-term structural changes. Our inaugural Global Real Estate Report breaks down major trends by sub-strategy for a macro overview of real estate activity worldwide. Key takeaways include:

Real estate tech has grown rapidly over the past decade, with flexible office space and warehouse utilization among the sectors to watch in the wake of COVID-19.

Industrial property was one of only two property types to record positive returns in 2020, capping a five-year run in which it far outperformed all other categories.

Dry powder levels remained relatively flat in H1, sitting at about $362 billion, with approximately half that amount in distressed or opportunistic funds.

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Silver Lake's bet on sports apparel gives Fanatics a $12.8B valuation

The Chainsmokers' lead singer Andrew Taggart performs at a Fanatics Super Bowl party in 2020. (Mike Coppola/Getty Images)

Fanatics, a licensed sports apparel giant led by billionaire Michael Rubin, has more than doubled its valuation in just a few months after another funding round led by a Silicon Valley stalwart.

A consortium led by Silver Lake has reportedly invested $320 million in Fanatics in a deal that values the online seller of sports apparel at $12.8 billion, according to a PitchBook estimate. Existing backers like Fidelity Investments, Neuberger Berman, Thrive Capital and Major League Baseball also participated in the round, which will support international expansion, possible acquisitions and Fanatics' ecommerce division.
The news comes after Thrive Capital and Fidelity Management & Research led a $350 million round in Fanatics last August that valued the business at $6.2 billion, according to a PitchBook estimate. At the time, it was widely reported it would be the final funding round before Fanatics went public. But the company has seen its ecommerce sales jump 30% year-over-year and it's on pace to reach $3 billion of revenue in 2021, according to reports. And it's made no public filings or statements about when an IPO might occur.
Fanatics has been aggressively expanding over the past few months. It inked a reported $1 billion joint venture with Hillhouse Capital to expand into China and also invested in Barnes & Noble Education to push its gear into college campuses. Additionally, it acquired hat maker Top of the World and WinCraft, a maker of sports accessories such as flags and pennants.

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A message from Deloitte

Nearly $152B poured into expansion-stage ecosystem

$151.9 billion was invested into the US expansion-stage ecosystem of private companies in 2020. The third quarter of last year alone saw a staggering $40.9 billion invested. But with companies like Robinhood filing to go public, what lies in store for the most mature and heavily funded cohort of expansion-stage companies?

In the latest edition, Deloitte industry leaders explore PitchBook datasets spanning the expansion-stage ecosystem to analyze topics such as:

The implications of the SPAC boom
What the stresses of 2020 meant for funding levels
Whether valuations are entering bubble territory

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Rescued AR startup Blippar makes $5M comeback

Blippar, a UK-based augmented reality startup that once claimed unicorn status before its collapse two years ago, has raised $5 million in a fresh pre-Series A round.

Blippar was reportedly worth $1.5 billion before it fell into administration in 2018 after an investor dispute prevented it from raising emergency funding. The startup was rescued from bankruptcy by existing backer Candy Ventures in 2019.

Blippar offers an app that lets users scan real-life objects on their phones and gain additional information. Prior to its collapse, the startup raised over $200 million from backers including Lansdowne Partners and Qualcomm Ventures.

The pre-Series A was led by Chroma Ventures and West Coast Capital. The funds will be used for product development and to expand the company's presence in the US, Europe and Asia.

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Recommended Reads

With some 70% of Rwandans involved in the agricultural sector, cows—and fermented milk on tap—are intrinsic to the country's culture. [BBC]

Should gig work be government-run? British labor reformer Wingham Rowan thinks so. [The New Yorker]

Around the world, the past year of lockdown has made people pine for puppies. But with the prevalence of dognapping and scams, finding a furry companion isn't as simple as it once was. [Fortune]

Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:

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Quick Takes


	The Daily Benchmark
	2013 Vintage European Real Assets Funds
	VC Deals
	Lightspeed backs $300M Series C for Blockchain.com
	Feedzai brings in $200M
	Eat Just gobbles up $200M in new financing
	Hopper collects $170M Series F
	Mental health startup reaches unicorn status with latest round
	Pacaso picks up $75M
	Exits & IPOs
	DigitalOcean stock falls after raising $775M in IPO

The Daily Benchmark

2013 Vintage European Real Assets Funds

Median IRR

10.90%

Top Quartile IRR Hurdle Rate

14.16%

1.38x

Median TVPI

Select top performers

EQT Infrastructure Fund II

AXA Infrastructure Fund III

Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund IV

*IRR: net of fees

11 Funds in Benchmark »

Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks

VC Deals

Lightspeed backs $300M Series C for Blockchain.com

Blockchain.com, the provider of a cryptocurrency wallet that lets users buy, store and trade digital currencies, has raised a $300 million Series C from DST Global, Lightspeed and Vy Capital, among other investors. The mega-round, which values the company at $5.2 billion, comes just one month after the London-based company closed on a $120 million strategic growth round at a reported $3 billion valuation. Blockchain.com said it is highly profitable across all business lines.

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Feedzai brings in $200M

Risk management specialist Feedzai has been valued at more than $1 billion after raising a $200 million round. KKR led the investment and was joined by Sapphire Ventures and Citi Ventures. Bay Area-based Feedzai's platform is used by big banks and fintech companies to detect and prevent financial crimes like money laundering and fraud.

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Eat Just gobbles up $200M in new financing

Eat Just has raised $200 million in a round led by the Qatar Investment Authority. The San Francisco-based company is a developer of plant-based egg alternatives and lab-grown meat. Founded in 2011, Eat Just was valued at $1.3 billion after raising $200 million in March 2020, according to PitchBook data.

Additional Investors:

Charlesbank Capital Partners, Vulcan Capital

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Hopper collects $170M Series F

Hopper, the provider of a travel booking app, has raised a $170 million Series F led by Capital One, with support from GS Growth, Inovia Capital, WestCap Group and Citi Ventures. The Montreal-based startup raised a $70 million round last spring. Hopper has announced that it's partnering with Capital One to create a customer booking portal for Capital One cardholders. It will also use the new financing to launch Hopper Cloud, a B2B initiative.

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Mental health startup reaches unicorn status with latest round

The growth arm of Blackstone has led a $100 million Series E for Ginger, reportedly valuing the maker of a mental health app at around $1 billion. The investment brings the San Francisco-based company's total private funding to more than $220 million; it has received prior backing from investors such as Kaiser Permanente Ventures, Cigna Ventures and Bessemer Venture Partners. Blackstone executive Ram Jagannath has joined the company's board of directors and Jesse Silver will become chief product officer.

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Pacaso picks up $75M

Pacaso has raised $75 million at a $1 billion valuation in a round co-led by Greycroft and Global Founders Capital. Additionally, the company has also received $1 billion of debt funding from financial institutions. Pacaso is the developer of a real estate platform that helps individuals purchase shares in a second home via a co-ownership agreement with vetted buyers.

Select Additional Investors:

Acrew Capital, Shea Ventures

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Exits & IPOs

DigitalOcean stock falls after raising $775M in IPO

Shares of DigitalOcean slid 9.6% to end at $42.50 in the cloud company's NYSE debut Wednesday. The New York-based company raised $775 million in its IPO and had a market cap of around $4.5 billion based on the shares outstanding at the closing price. Len Blavatnik's Access Industries is DigitalOcean's largest investor, with a 22% stake controlled through a subsidiary, followed by Andreessen Horowitz (15%) and IA Ventures (14%).

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