Walt Disney Co. is in talk with online fantasy sports site DraftKings about a venture investment that could see the Seattle based start-up valued at $1 billion.
If such a deal comes to pass, it would give DraftKings a new ammunition in the competition with FanDuel for new customers, the credibility of membership in the Unicorn Club— companies that have soared to a $1 billion valuation or higher, based on fundraising—and give it an elite media partner ESPN—another property of Walt Disney—in the way that FanDuel counts Comcast and NBC Sports among its investors.
FanDuel is also shopping around a possible large growth funding round—a deal was also described as at “$1 billion or more.”
Meanwhile, DraftDay.com’s owner MGT Capital Investments has partnered with Seneca Gaming Corporation, owned by the sovereign Seneca Nation of Indians, to launch a new daily fantasy sports site for Seneca Resorts & Casino’s three properties – Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino, Seneca Allegany Resort & Casino, and Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino.