For months now, daily fantasy sports fans have been awaiting a big merger between the two top providers of contests, FanDuel and DraftKings. The merger has faced regulatory hurdles along the way and after revealing that investors may have to provide more funds for the company, FanDuel CEO Nigel Eccles has now provided information that casts even more doubt that the merger will take place.
The CEO was recently interviewed by Recode and the details of that interview published yesterday. Eccles stated in the interview that FanDuel was evaluating their options which includes walking away from the deal with DraftKings if the Federal Trade Commission cannot be convinced that the merger will decrease competition within the daily fantasy sports marketplace.
Last month, the FTC decided to file a suit in an attempt to block the merger as they felt the combined companies would have control of more than 90% of the daily fantasy sports market in the United States. The companies do not share in this belief and feel their alleged domination is being seen in the context of larger weekly and season-long fantasy contests.
In November, 7BALL an administrative trial is set to take place and all parties involved will be taking part in a scheduling conference this Friday.
Since the filing was made by the FTC, Eccles along with Jason Robins, the CEO of DraftKings, have stated on several occasions that they are considering their options. However, Eccles recent comments in the interview include his belief that the company is enjoying what is most likely the fastest growth in the history of FanDuel and they could succeed on their own if the merger does not happen.
Documents have been filed since the suit by the FTC was filed that show FanDuel lost close to $60 million during the first ten months of last year. This is on top of information just revealed that the company needs a new round of funding in order to have enough capital to complete the upcoming NFL season.
