Dream11 Raises $225 Million in Latest Funding Round at a $2.5 Billion Valuation

Dream11
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  • Arpit Jain September 15, 2020
  • 2 Minutes Read

Ending months of speculation, reports on Monday confirmed that Dream Sports (the parent company of fantasy gaming behemoth Dream11) has raised $225 Million (~₹1,656 Crores) in fresh capital from a group of investors including the New York-headquartered Tiger Global Management, TPG Tech Adjacencies (TTAD), ChrysCapital and Footpath Ventures.

As per reports, most of the funding is secondary, while only a small portion is coming in as a primary investment. The secondary investment has valued the company at around $2.50 Billion (~₹18,407 Crores) while the primary investment has come in at a valuation of $2.20 Billion (~₹16,198 Crores).

The funding round has brought the stake of Chinese technology conglomerate, Tencent Holdings in Dream11 to single digits, a strategic move by the company, given the increased government scrutiny on Chinese investments in India. Tencent had led Dream11’s Series D funding round of $100 Million in September 2018.

Along with Tencent, Kalaari Capital and Renuka Ramnath-led Multiples Alternate Asset Management have also reduced their stake in secondary transactions.

Dream Sports` CEO and co-founder, Harsh Jain, has been the driving force behind its growth from just fantasy sports to merchandising, streaming, and sports content in the last two years, and Jain has always maintained that “there is much more to come.”

On the latest investments, Jain said, “We are excited to welcome our new partners, who share our passion for sports and have extensive experience in building highly valuable tech companies in India.”

This funding round has been completed at an opportunistic time for the company preparing for the busy IPL 2020 season. Dream11 had only weeks ago, sealed the title sponsorship rights for the upcoming IPL season. The unicorn company is also the co-presenting sponsor for the Star Sports league.

Dream11’s parent company, Dream Sports, also owns FanCode and sports accelerator company, DreamX.

Talking about the investment, TPG Tech Adjacencies’ Managing Director, Akshay Tanna, stated, “The sports sector has high growth potential in India. There is a significant opportunity to enhance the fan experience and we are excited to partner with Dream Sports to leverage technology in ways that will deepen the connection between Indian fans and the sports they love.”

Dream Sports COO and co-founder, Bhavit Sheth, added, “I am proud of our lean yet highly efficient team that has been the driving force behind the creation of ‘Sports Tech’ as a new industry category in India”.

As per estimates, out of the 100 Million fantasy sports players in the country, 82 Million players are registered on Dream11. According to Jain, the overall potential in the next two years will be to grow to 250 Million users in the country!

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