Mandalay Sports Media has led an $11M equity financing round for Massachusetts-based toymaker Oyo Sports, which produces licensed mini-figures for athletes in numerous major pro sports. Oyo is perhaps best known for the recent digital film it produced recreating the highlights of retired Yankees SS Derek Jeter's career using the toys, a clip that quickly went viral. The funds will be used to fuel an expansion campaign that will include a push to move Oyo into the digital world. Mandalay CEO Rich Battista said, "We think there's a terrific opportunity to turn this into a major 360-degree consumer lifestyle brand." Oyo had been looking to raise a Series A round, a few months after raising a $3M seed round involving several Boston tech investors, including Atlas Venture and Boston Seed Capital. Those outfits were also involved in this latest round. Mandalay is now the largest shareholder of Oyo, and Battista will join the company's BOD along with Mandalay investor Jeff Patterson of Columbia Capital. Oyo produces all of its products in-house, and uses a streamlined production process to makes its mini-figures in a matter of weeks. Efforts such as the recent Jeter campaign, which also involved a series of retirement-themed products, highlight expanding efforts to use social media and viral trends to inform Oyo's product development and marketing. Oyo Founder & CEO Tom Skripps said, "We develop our products in real-time, and part of what we'll do with these funds in look to significantly scale that process, which requires a lot of technology."
