Sources say Fanatics not buying Panini
Reuters, citing two sources close to the situation, reported on Thursday that Panini Group, the parent company of Panini America, chose Citi “as a financial adviser to explore strategic options for the company, including a sale.”
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Additionally, a Thursday report in the Italian financial publication Il Sole 24 Ore linked Fanatics to a potential Panini sale. The Il Sole 24 Ore report, according to Reuters, mentioned that “private equity firms and U.S. group The Topps Company could be interested in acquiring the business.”
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Sources close to Fanatics tell Collectibles OnSI that they’re not buying Panini. Along with Citi, Panini declined to comment on the situation when reached by Reuters.
Acquired by Fanatics in 2022, Topps has had exclusive rights to the MLB and MLBPA trading card licenses since 2023. Panini, which started manufacturing cards through licensing deals with the NBA and NBPA, lost both licenses to Fanatics, who debuted 2025-26 Topps Basketball cards in October.
-1f9b5aba42acf122a9de17edfe18f6ad.jpeg "Jeff Howe")
Jeff Howe is a sports writer with over two decades of professional experience contributing to ESPN.com, Rivals.com and the Sporting News, among other publications. He currently reports on the Texas Longhorns for “On Texas Football” after covering the Longhorns for 247Sports and CBS Sports. His hobby journey started when he was 6 years old, hanging out at his dad’s card shop and collecting cards alongside his two brothers.