Fanatics announced the acquisition of Topps’ sports & entertainment division, covering its worldwide online and offline business with trading cards and collectibles, in a deal said to be worth about $500 million. Topps had sales of $567 million in 2021. About 60 percent of the revenues came from the operations being acquired by Fanatics. They consist of the sale of sports trading cards and collectibles in more than 100 countries, with a physical presence in ten countries including the U.S., the U.K., Germany, Italy, Brazil and Japan. Topps has licensing deals with major sports leagues including Major League Soccer in the U.S., Formula 1, UEFA and the German Bundesliga.
The takeover boosts Fanatics’ own trading cards business, which includes deals with the NBA and the players’ unions of the NBA and the NFL. It comes five months after a subsidiary controlled by Fanatics took over a license with Major League Baseball (MLB) and its players’ association in the U.S. from Topps ahead of their expiration, starting in 2026 and 2023, respectively. The loss of the two contracts effectively derailed plans by Topps to go public through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), with an indicative valuation of $1.3 billion.
The licensors got minority stakes in Fanatics’ trading cards subsidiary as part of that important deal. Shortly afterwards, in September, some private equity firms and other investors took stakes in Fanatics Trading Cards through a $350 million equity increase that gave it a valuation of $10.4 billion. Fanatics retained 80 percent of the shares in the business.
Noting that its own assets include a database of more than 80 million sports fans, Fanatics said that Topps “adds expertise, infrastructure, an iconic brand, and a broad range of capabilities from the industry leader.” It added that trading cards and collectibles will be “a significant pillar of our long-term plans to become the leading digital sports platform.”
Topps will continue to operate under its well-known brand name, but the operations being acquired and their 350 employees around the world will be folded into Fanatics’ Trading Card division, which will be run by David Leitner, global vice president and general manager of Topps. Founded 70 years ago by the Shorin family, Topps was acquired 14 years ago by Tornante Co. and a private equity firm, Madison Dearborn Partners, for $385 million. Tornante, an investment company led by Michael Eisner, former CEO of Walt Disney Co., will keep Topps’ bubble gum business, which will be renamed as Bazooka Joe.
