Dream11’s owner raises ₹6,248 cr
1 min read 24 Nov 2021, 11:52 PM ISTDream Sports, which owns fantasy sports platform Dream11, on Wednesday said it has raised $840 million ( ₹6,248 crore) from Falcon Edge, DST Global, D1 Capital, Redbird Capital and Tiger Global at a valuation of $8 billion
PremiumDream Sports, which owns fantasy sports platform Dream11, on Wednesday said it has raised $840 million ( ₹6,248 crore) from Falcon Edge, DST Global, D1 Capital, Redbird Capital and Tiger Global at a valuation of $8 billion.
The funding round also saw participation from TPG and Footpath Ventures.
“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," said Harsh Jain, chief executive and co-founder, Dream Sports.
Avendus Capital was the financial adviser to Dream Sports on the transaction.
Global investors have backed gaming companies in India, as it emerges as one of the world’s largest markets for game downloads. China’s crackdown on gaming companies, and restrictions on young gamers, have also increased India’s attractiveness as an investment destination.
Mumbai-based Dream Sports, co-founded by Jain and Bhavit Sheth in 2008, has 140 million users.
Apart from Dream11, its other brands include FanCode, a sports content and commerce platform; DreamSetGo, a sports experiences platform; and DreamPay, a payment solutions provider.
In August, Dream Sports also made an initial allocation of $250 million for its corporate venture capital and acquisitions arm Dream Capital to invest in sports, gaming and fitness-tech startups.
Dream Sports raised $400 million in April from investors including Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm TCV. It became the first Indian gaming company to break into the unicorn club in 2019 when Hong Kong-based hedge fund Steadview Capital picked up a stake. The Steadview investment created partial exits for early investors Kalaari Capital, Multiples Alternate Asset Management and Think Investments.
Another fantasy sports platform, Mobile Premier League, also stormed into the unicorn club after raising Series E funding at a pre-money valuation of $2.3 billion in September.
