Fanatics, a leading online retailer of licensed sports products, today announced that it has signed a definitive merger agreement with the multi-channel, technology-driven retailer of licensed sports products, Dreams. This merger is a major one for this particular industry.

The agreement calls for Fanatics to acquire all the outstanding shares of Dreams for $3.45 a share in cash, representing a premium of 32% over the closing stock price of $2.61 on the prior trading day, April 13. The overall value of the transaction is $183 million, taking into account $25 million of outstanding Dreams’ debt. Dreams’ board of directors and major shareholders have approved the deal and it is expected to close sometime in the third quarter of this year.

Fanatics CEO Alan Trager stated, “Today is an exciting day for all sports fans.” The deal should work since the two companies share a similar culture which is focused on improving customers experience, innovation and growth. The merger is expected to enable Fanatics to accelerate its investments in product assortment, mobile and e-commerce technology, and also add a regional fulfillment infrastructure to better serve both companies’ customers and partners.”

Fanatics was able to pull off the deal thanks to an equity financing agreement with Insight Venture Partners.

For additional information about Fanatics, please its website at www.fanatics.com and for further information on Dreams, visit the company’s website at www.Dreamscorp.com

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