Fanatics has reportedly agreed to acquire trading card rival Topps for US$500mln in a deal that consolidates the sports collectables industry and opens the door to new NFT-based ventures.
Collectables and sports merchandise online retailer Fanatics last year reached a US$18bn valuation - with a US$325mln funding round backed by Jay-Z and Roc Nation – and snatched a decades-long licensing deal with Major League Baseball (MLB) away from Topps.
For Topps, the MLB loss was a factor in the spiking of a planned SPAC deal that could have seen Topps return to the market after it was taken private for US$385mln in 2007.
Fanatics meanwhile quickly moved to launch NFT collectables for the MLB, with a digital art series.
The e-commerce group, which sells its products online directly to consumers, also landed deals with the NFL Players Association and the NBA.
Acquiring Topps gives Fanatics rights for Major League Soccer, UEFA soccer tournaments, German's Bundesliga and Formula 1 motor racing.
Fanatics raised US$100mln in a funding round for Candy Digital, its NFT business, which on a standalone basis valued the unit at around US$1.5bn. The October funding round was backed by investors including Softbank and retired NFL quarterback Peyton Manning.
Candy Digital was launched in June 2021 amidst the so-called ‘NFT boom’. Using blockchain technologies that power cryptocurrencies, the business unit is developing NFT marketplace for digital collectables as a compliment to its real-world trading cards brands.
Candy aims to be “the trusted, institutional-grade provider of authentic licensed products in the NFT space”, according to the business unit’s chief executive Scott Lawin, who in an October statement added: “Blockchain and NFTs provide tremendous opportunities to enhance the fan experience by allowing people to own a piece of their passion.”