Epic Games’s value may hit $28 billion in latest round

Epic Games could be worth about $28 billion based on its latest round of fundraising, Sky News reported, propelling the company into the ranks of the world’s 10 most valuable startups.

The owner of the popular game Fortnite is finalizing terms for a $1 billion funding round, Sky said, citing people familiar it didn’t identify. At that valuation, Epic would overtake startups including Rivian Automotive Inc., based on data compiled by CB Insights.

The latest raise came just seven months after Epic closed a round of capital from investors including Sony Corp. and Baillie Gifford at a valuation of $17.3 billion. It recently expanded its portfolio with the purchase of the maker of “Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout,” an online game that was one of the breakout hits of the pandemic.

Bank of America Corp. is advising Epic Games on the latest transaction, Sky said. An Epic spokeswoman declined to comment on the report.

Multiple startups have seen their valuations surge amid the pandemic. Stripe Inc.’s valuation almost tripled in less than a year to $95 billion with its latest funding round, making it the most valuable U.S. startup. The online payments processing company raised $600 million in its round, Stripe said on March 14.

Rivian, an electric-vehicle startup backed by Amazon.com Inc. and Ford Motor Co., may also be valued higher in an initial public offering later this year. It’s looking to go public as soon as September at a valuation of at least $50 billion, versus $27.6 billion in a funding round in January, people familiar said last month.

Epic is also not backing off from taking on giant technology companies. It’s nearing a trial after it sued Apple Inc. over the removal of Fortnite from the App Store. Its Chief Executive Officer Tim Sweeney and Apple chief Tim Cook may testify at the trial, according to a court document.