FANDUEL co-founder Nigel Eccles has quit his role as chief executive of the Edinburgh-based fantasy sports specialist.
Mr Eccles has been replaced by Matt King, a one-time chief financial officer of the company and former director of Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co (KKR). In 2015 private equity giant KKR led a $275 million investment round in FanDuel, which offers daily fantasy sports play in US-based sports such as baseball and American football, alongside Google Capital, Time Warner Investments and Turner Sports.
FanDuel, which has fought expensive court action in several US states over the legal status of its games, had raised $70m in funding the previous year. KKR was an investor in the 2014 round, which was led by Shamrock Capital Partners.
Mr Eccles’ departure comes after a restructuring at FanDuel earlier this year, which followed its aborted merger with US-based fantasy sports specialist DraftKings. The restructuring stemmed from a resolution passed by the company in January, which provided for radical changes to the share structure if the merger did not go through.
Mr Eccles, who founded the once-heralded tech unicorn with wife Lesley Eccles, Tom Griffiths and Rob Jones in 2009, tweeted that he was: “Excited but a little bit sad to be leaving @fanduel”. He is believed to be preparing to launch a new “eSports” business in the US, where he has been based full-time since last year.
“With his strategic vision, range of experiences, and broad skillset, I cannot imagine a better individual to steer FanDuel forward,” said Mr Eccles of his successor.”
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