Bloomberg
(Bloomberg) -- Bazooka Candy Brands, acquired last year by private equity firm Apax Partners, has raised more than $10 million from a group of athletes, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The list of about 60 investors includes NFL star DK Metcalf; NBA players Cade Cunningham and Derrick White; and college basketball’s Deja Kelly and Flau’jae Johnson. Former New York Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia and Kylie and Jason Kelce, who recently retired from the NFL, were also part of the funding round, which was done through private investment firm Patricof Co.
Bazooka, purchased by Apax for about $700 million from former Walt Disney boss Michael Eisner, plans to push into sports. Once known as Topps Chewing Gum, Bazooka had spent most of its existence tethered to trading cards until Topps lost its license with Major League Baseball.
Eisner then sold the collectibles arm to sports merchandiser Fanatics Inc. in 2022, leaving a candy company known for Bazooka gum, which is wrapped in a comic strip, and brands such as Ring Pop.
“We were connected to a sports business for a long, long time,” Bazooka Chief Executive Officer Tony Jacobs, who stayed on after the sale, said in an interview. “Being able to leverage athletes is really important to us.”
Bazooka’s management, which declined to provide annual revenue figures, is considering developing a line of candy gummies with Metcalf, a wide receiver for the Seattle Seahawks. The company might turn athletes like him into comic strip characters, an idea Metcalf pitched to the company, he said in an interview.
There’s precedent for athletes promoting candy, including NFL star Marshawn Lynch pitching Skittles.
“Everybody looks at an athlete like they’re a superhero,” said Metcalf, who will be involved in strategy and product development. “Candy brands and athletes — one thing that makes them so successful is because it humanizes an athlete.”
The company is also looking to do more in entertainment and music to reach demographics spanning teens to their parents, Jacobs said. Earlier this year, it announced a partnership with DC Comics for a crossover series. Bazooka also ran commercials during the NFL’s Super Bowl — not on the main broadcast, but on the first-ever alternate telecast on Paramount Global’s Nickelodeon network.
(Updates with more details on investment beginning in sixth paragraph.)