DraftKings has closed on a $153M round of venture capital financing involving Revolution Growth, the investment firm co-founded by Monumental Sports & Entertainment Chair & CEO Ted Leonsis. Revolution Growth Partner Steve Murray -- formerly Softbank Capital Partner & Managing Dir -- will join the daily fantasy company’s BOD. The new valuation for DraftKings as a result of the new funding was not disclosed, but is believed to be below the roughly $2B mark pegged for the company last year, but that was prior to political and regulatory issues arising for DFS across the country. Existing investors for DraftKings include Fox Sports, MLB, the NHL, MLS, MSG, Legends Hospitality and the Kraft Group. DraftKings co-Founder & CEO Jason Robins: “Revolution Growth is a tremendous new partner for DraftKings, with an entrepreneurial outlook and spirit of innovation that meshes perfectly with the culture of our company." Robins also said the VC round was oversubscribed.
SPEED ROUND: Revolution Growth supplied its investment from a $525M fund designed to invest “speed-up” capital in disruptive businesses. The fund, announced in June, was designed to make three or four investments per year, with each deal worth about $25-50M. DraftKings also is Revolution Growth’s second sports investment in the last year following its lead role last fall in a $44M funding round for sports data and analytics company Sportradar. Murray: "Online fantasy sports are just one of the many ways technology has disrupted the sports industry in recent years."
