Google, Time Warner, Turner Sports, NBC and Comcast all participated in a round that valued the fantasy sports operator at more than $1bn.
US-based fantasy sports platform FanDuel closed a $275m series E round today, securing funding from diversified internet company Google and a host of media firms.
Fanduel, initially called Hubdub, was originally spun out of Edinburgh University as a sports prediction startup in 2009. Investment firm KKR led the round, which also featured Google’s growth equity fund Google Capital, broadcaster Turner Sports and media companies Time Warner, NBC and Comcast, which invested through their respective Time Warner Investments, NBC Sports Ventures and Comcast Ventures units.
The oversubscribed round was completed by Shamrock Capital, Bullpen Capital, Pentech Ventures, Piton Capital and undisclosed owners of NFL and NBA teams. It valued FanDuel at “well north” of $1bn, sources told Re/code.
FanDuel operates a fantasy sports platform that enables users to play one-day or one-week games based around NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and college sports games. It is the official fantasy sports partner of the NBA and has several deals with NFL and NBA teams in place.
The company, which claims to have grown its base of paid active users 300% year on year, will use the funding to accelerate customer acquisition and development of its product as it increases its headcount. It recently hired a 40-strong development team to focus on sports and mobile gaming.
The round took FanDuel’s overall funding to $363m, $70m of which came in a September 2014 series D round led by Shamrock Capital that also featured Comcast Ventures, NBC Sports Ventures, KKR, Bullpen Capital, Pentech Ventures, Scottish Enterprise and Richard Koch.
Comcast Ventures previously led FanDuel’s $11m series C round in 2011, investing alongside Piton Capital, Pentech Ventures and Bullpen Capital and Koch.
Nigel Eccles, CEO and co-founder of FanDuel, said: “Having partners like KKR, Google Capital and Time Warner/Turner Sports invest in FanDuel underscores the way this company is transforming sports entertainment.
“This roster of investors, with expertise across finance, technology, advertising and sports entertainment, is committed to the growth and success of FanDuel as a game-changer for the sports industry.”
This article first appeared on our sister site Global Corporate Venturing.
