Fanatics Inc., the sports merchandising giant founded in the Jacksonville area, is now worth $31 billion after raising an additional $700 million from a group of investment firms, The Wall Street Journal reported Dec. 6.
The Journal story, citing “people familiar with the matter,” said the investment group includes private equity firm Clearlake Capital Group LP and merchant banking firm LionTree LLC.
The investment comes as Fanatics prepares to launch a sports gambling business in 2023.
Fanatics was founded with a single retail store in the Orange Park Mall in 1995. After opening a second store in The Avenues mall in 1997, it began selling sports merchandise online at a time when e-commerce was beginning.
The founders, brothers Mitchell and Alan Trager, sold the business in 2011 to a Philadelphia company run by current Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin.
The company maintains its commerce headquarters in Jacksonville but Rubin has been expanding Fanatics beyond its initial sports merchandising business.
The Journal story said Fanatics expects revenue of about $7 billion this year, with nearly $6 billion still coming from sports merchandising.
Financial news services have long speculated that Fanatics will eventually go public. The Journal said the company is waiting for the initial public offering market to pick up before going ahead with those plans.