Fortnite maker Epic Games said to be close to raising US$750 million in funding for US$17 billion valuation
- Epic Games and its video game competitors are becoming destinations to watch concerts and debut movie trailers
- Video game companies have been taking advantage of the renewed interest in their products to do deals
As people flock to video games and social networks to fight boredom during the pandemic, investors in the company that owns two of the biggest lockdown hits are betting that those habits will stick.
Start-up Epic Games, which developed battle game Fortnite and acquired networking app Houseparty, is close to raising a US$750 million round of funding at a valuation of about US$17 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.
New investors T. Rowe Price Group and Baillie Gifford will contribute to the round, while existing investors including KKR & Co. will also participate, the people said, asking not to be identified as the details are not public. The valuation, which includes the new funding, is a bump up from the US$15 billion valuation the company garnered in 2018.
The funding round is not finalised and some of the details could still change, the people said.
Representatives for Epic Games, Baillie Gifford, KKR and T. Rowe Price declined to comment.
The round is one example of how, even as many start-ups lay off employees and scale back operations, there could still be opportunities for companies that provide what many now see as essential distractions.
