Dream11’s Parent Company Dream Sports Raises $840 Million in Latest Funding Round at $8 Billion Valuation

Dream11
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  • Namita Ghosh November 26, 2021
  • 2 Minutes Read

Gaming unicorn Dream11 has been readying up for a U.S. IPO launch, and in the run-up, the company has rapidly expanded its capabilities. In another significant boost, Dream Sports, the parent company of Dream11, closed an $840 Million (~₹6,252.2 Crore) funding round on November 24. Avendus Capital was the exclusive financial advisor for the transaction.

The new funding round led by marquee investors like Falcon Edge, DST Global, D1 Capital Redbird Capital, and New York-based Tiger Global has amped up the fantasy gaming giant’s valuation to an astronomical $8 Billion, up 60% from $5 Billion in March when it raised $400 Million in a secondary transaction!

The recent funding round is one of the biggest ever for the Indian gaming sector. It is in sync with Dream11’s plans to develop a comprehensive ecosystem for gaming that covers sports content, e-commerce, fan engagement, player experience, Web 3.0 solutions, fantasy sports, fitness tech – the works!!

Speaking about the latest funding, CEO and co-founder of Dream Sports, Harsh Jain, said, “Our vision and mission is to create an entrepreneur-led virtuous cycle of investment, innovation, and wealth creation for all stakeholders in the sports ecosystem, from fans to athletes, teams, and leagues. Our investors have deep experience in developing sports ecosystems globally, and we are fortunate to have their guidance to ‘Make Sports Better’ for 1 Billion Indian sports fans.”

Dream11 co-founder Harsh Jain
Dream11 co-founder Harsh Jain

 

Dream11 – Growing Userbase Acting as Investor Magnet

Founded in 2008, Dream11 is the flagship fantasy sports platform of Dream Sports. The company has diversified into other gaming segments with sports content platforms, DreamSetGo and FanCode. The company’s sister concern, Dream Capital, has 10 early-stage startups like Fittr, SoStronk, KheloMore, and Elevar under its portfolio. The gaming behemoth claims to have a user base of over 140 million and almost 1,000 employees.

If you single out Dream11, the fantasy sports giant has been on an upsurge since 2019. In April 2019, Dream11 secured a secondary transaction from London-based Steadview Capital of $60 Million (~₹426 Crores). While this brought Dream11 into the unicorn club, in December 2019, the Supreme Court of India dismissed all the Special Leave Petitions (SLP) against Dream11, settling once and for all that games offered by the fantasy major required considerable skill and were thus not gambling. The favorable Supreme Court ruling drew the attention of global investors like the American Hedge Fund, Tiger Global Management.

There were talks last year in January that Dream11 was looking to raise $500 Million in funding through Tiger Global Management. Just before the IPL season, in August 2020, Dream11 bagged the title sponsorship for IPL 2020. A month later, the company raised $225 Million (~₹1,656 Crores) in fresh capital at a $2.50 Billion valuation, with Tiger Global Management being one of the top investors. In October, the same year, Dream11 acquired the AI fantasy sports startup FanDuniya.

After a lean 2020 due to the pandemic-induced lockdown on sports, Dream11 has continued to prosper in 2021. In March, it secured $400 Million in a secondary transaction led by TCV, D1 Captial Partners, and Falcon Edge. The round raised Dream11’s valuation to $5 Billion (~₹36,218 Crores), nearly doubling the company`s worth in six months.

The gaming giant has been ambitiously eyeing the U.S. market and has been reportedly preparing for a U.S. IPO launch. We reported in April-end this year that Dream11 is planning for a U.S. listing early in 2022, through which it aims to raise $1.50 Billion.

However, there has been thunder along with sunshine. In October, the company founders came under legal trouble after an FIR was lodged at a Bengaluru police station against the company and its co-founders for continuing operating in Karnataka. The matter is currently sub-judice, and the Karnataka High Court has granted interim relief to the founders.

All said and done, the latest funding round has further re-enforced Dream Sports’ status as the most valued gaming company in India!

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