Portsmouth owner Michael Eisner lands massive $500m windfall after securing huge deal for sale of company

Terms have been agreed for the sports trading card company, owned by Eisner’s Tornante Company and equity firm Madison Dearborn, to be purchased by sports eCommerce group Fanatics.

Topps is best known for Major League Baseball cards, as well as having rights for Major League Soccer, Bundesliga, Formula 1 and Match Attax through it’s Uefa licence.

Eisner will retain the confection and gift cards arm of the company, which will be now known as The Bazooka Companies Inc.

The former Disney CEO, who bought Pompey for £5.67m in 2017, purchased Topps for $385m in 2007. It then went public last April, valued at an eye-watering $1.3bn.

The Pompey owner said of the deal: ‘Like any crown jewel, I and my partners at Madison Dearborn will miss our many years of ownership where we grew a highly profitable business through strategic licensing partnerships, global expansion, and digital transformation.

‘We're proud of what the Topps team has accomplished.’

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