FanDuel and DraftKings both offer daily, weekly and season-long fantasy sports games and the two have been engaged in a fierce rivalry in recent years.
However, announcing the “merger of equal parts,” the two companies said in a statement: “The operational efficiencies and cost savings that are expected to result from the merger will drive a greater focus on developing new products and features, including more variety in contest formats, loyalty programmes, enhanced social functionality and ancillary sports-orientated content and experiences, all aimed at creating a more diverse, exciting and appealing experience for fantasy sports players and all sports fans.”
DraftKings CEO Jason Robins said: “We have always been passionate about providing the best possible experience for our customers and this merger will help advance our goal of building a transformational global sports entertainment platform.
“Joining forces will allow us to truly realise the potential of our vision and as a combined company we will be able to accelerate the pace of innovation and bring a richer experience to our customers than we ever could have done separately.”
Nigel Eccles, CEO of FanDuel, said: “Being able to combine DraftKings and FanDuel presents a tremendous opportunity for us to further innovate and disrupt the sports industry.
“While both companies have accomplished much already, this transaction will create a business that can offer a greater variety of offerings, appealing to new users, including the tens of millions of season-long fantasy players that haven’t yet tried our products.”
DraftKings CEO Robins will become chief executive of the new combined company while FanDuel chief Eccles will become chairman of the board. The new board will be composed of three directors from DraftKings, three from FanDuel and one independent director. The company will be co-headquartered in the US cities of New York and Boston.
The financial details of the deal have not been disclosed.
