Fanatics has received a new valuation of US$27 billion after its latest funding round which saw the company raise a further US$1.5 billion to boost its expansion into the digital space.

Leading the investment round was BlackRock, Fidelity, and MSD Capital, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal, which suggested the round was the biggest in the history of the company.

The round sees Fanatics continue its focus of expanding beyond sports merchandise licensing with a focus on increasing its efforts for trading cards, sports betting, and NFTs.

Most recently, Fanatics had received a valuation worth US$18 million in August with a funding round led by Silver Lake, Jay-Z and his Roc Nation company, SoftBank, and Eldridge owner Todd Boehly.

The August funding round was immediately followed by the launch of Fanatics’ NFT arm, Candy Digital, which recently received a $1.5 billion valuation.

Since then, Fanatics has also acquired Mitchell & Ness from private equity firm, Juggernaut Capital Partners, with investment partners including a host of celebrities.

Fanatics currently has exclusive licensing deals with the NFL, NHL, NBA, and MLB in the US, as well as a number of other merchandising deals across international sport.

The company is expected to now officially enter an initial public offering (IPO) process following this latest investment round, however some reports have suggested this would not happen until at least 2023, according to the New York Post.