Fanatics Selling Its 60% Stake in Sports NFT Firm Candy Digital: Report

Sports apparel and memorabilia firm Fanatics is selling its 60% stake in sports-focused NFT company Candy Digital to a group led by Galaxy Digital, according to a report from CNBC, citing an internal email obtained by the network.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, according to CNBC.

But Fanatics’ CEO Michael Rubin wrote in the internal email that “Divesting our ownership stake at this time allowed us to ensure investors were able to recoup most of their investment via cash or additional shares in Fanatics – a favorable outcome for investors, especially in an imploding NFT market that has seen precipitous drops in both transaction volumes and prices for standalone NFTs.”

Galaxy Digital set up Candy Digital along with entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk and Fanatics in the middle of 2021 during a booming period for the sports NFT market. In Oct. 2021, Candy Digital raised $100 million in a Series A funding round at a $1.5 billion valuation.

Neither Fanatics nor Candy Digital immediately responded to a request for comment.