Fanatics holds second investor day as the company moves toward IPO

Fanatics held its second investor day in nearly a year as the company quietly moves closer to an initial public offering, a source familiar with the matter tells CNBC.

More than 100 existing and prospective institutional investors from major firms such as Goldman Sachs and Barclays gathered Tuesday for the meeting at the NBA Players Association headquarters in New York to hear from Fanatics founder and CEO Michael Rubin, the source said. Another 300 people attended the meeting virtually on Zoom.

Leaders from all parts of the business gave presentations and took part in a Q-and-A session with the audience.

A spokesman for Fanatics said the company’s timeline for an IPO hasn’t changed.

Investors were also treated to a surprise visit by football great Tom Brady, an investor in the company.

Brady spoke to investors about business and leadership, and he took questions from the audience.

Florida-based Fanatics was founded in 2011 by Rubin, former co-owner of the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils. It now has exclusive licensing deals with the NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB, and colleges and universities to make and sell official team merchandise.

Last November, Rubin gathered sell-side analysts for a meet-and-greet and to talk about his growth plans for the company.

And in April, the company announced it was hiring Deborah Crawford from Meta to lead investor relations, a new position at the company.

Fanatics, the global platform company, is valued at $31 billion. It has seen rapid growth and made a number of acquisitions in the past couple of years, including Topps trading cards and clothing brand Mitchell & Ness.

The company most recently has had its eyes on sports betting, scooping up PointsBet’s U.S. assets for about $150 million in May.

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