George Soros is part of the group of big-name investors to have received shares in daily fantasy sports and sports betting operator DraftKings after it went public late last month through a three-company merger.
According to a recent filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Quantum Partners, an investment fund managed by Soros Fund Management, holds 2.7 million DraftKings Class A shares, which is good for a $66 million stake in the company.
Soros Fund Management oversees roughly $25 billion worth in investments on behalf of Mr. Soros and his family.
DraftKings went public last month through a merger with NASDAQ-listed special purpose acquisition company Diamond Eagle Acquisition Corp. and European sports betting technology company SBTech.
DraftKings’ combination with Diamond Eagle enabled it to become a public company while forgoing traditional IPO. The company now trades on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol DKNG. It has gone up 40% since its went public.
The company was founded in 2012 in Boston as a provider of paid daily fantasy sports contests. After the US Supreme Court invalidated a long-standing federal ban on sports betting two years ago, DraftKings ventured into the nation’s newly opened wagering market to become one of the leading sportsbooks in nearly half of the states that have legalized athletic gambling since then.
DraftKings Attracts Major Investors
DraftKings has previously drawn startup investments from Major League Baseball as well as from the owner of Dallas Cowboys, Jerry Jones, and the owner of New England Patriots, Robert Kraft.
The list of its investors after it went public last month includes some big names. Mousse Partners, the family office that manages the wealth of the Wertheimer family, holds a $88 million stake in DraftKings, according to the recent SEC filing.
Michael Gordon, who formerly served as money manager with Jeffrey Vinik’s hedge fund, has nearly $20 million in shares.
Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp., which is controlled by the Dolan family, owner of the New York Knicks, indirectly holds nearly 1.5 million shares. Several pro-basketball teams’ owners are, too, listed as DraftKings investors.
The gambling company is looking to woo market investors as a mobile-heavy provider of betting services in a highly competitive industry.
DraftKings’ merger with SBTech formed “the only vertically integrated pure-play sports betting and online gaming company based in the United States.” The combined group has $500 million in cash on hand as it looks to compete in the US sports betting industry.
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