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 (non-fungible token) company Candy Digital to a group led by noted financier Michael Novogratz's Galaxy Digital, according to a report from CNBC, which cited an internal email it obtained.

Terms of the deal weren't disclosed, according to CNBC.

“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," Fanatics founder and Executive Chairman Michael Rubin wrote in the internal email.

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

Candy Digital declined to address the reported sale of the Fanatics stake, but separately announced a Series A1 funding round led by Galaxy and ConsenSys Mesh, with participation from 10T Holdings and ConsenSys, among others. Terms of the fundraising weren’t disclosed.

Fanatics didn't respond to a request for comment.

UPDATE (Jan. 5, 21:39 UTC): Added response and announcement from Candy Digital.