Pokémon cards catch $500 million valuation

The Future. Collectible card buying and grading company Certified Collectibles Group sold a majority stake in itself at a valuation of $500 million. The investment shows how demand for nostalgia-fueled card collecting has skyrocketed… turning the cards from a kid’s plaything into a genuine investment option.

Seeing holographic
Is Pokémon the coolest it has ever been?

• An investment corporation called The Blackstone Group bought a majority stake in trading card company Certified Collectibles Group (CCG), valuing the company at $500 million.
• CCG is most known for buying and grading (evaluating and certifying the condition of) Pokémon cards.
• In addition to The Blackstone Group, minority investors include Roc Nation… meaning Jay-Z is one of the biggest investors in Pokémon cards.

So what is CCG going to do with the new investment?

“With Blackstone’s support, we will accelerate our growth by hiring and training more graders, expanding our facilities, serving new markets, developing our digital offerings and much more.” No sense in changing what has been a great venture since 1987.

Nostalgia levels up
To date, CCG has certified more than 62 million collectibles… and the company may be entering its best decade yet. Due to the rise of NFTs, the widespread adoption of anime, and the biggest boom in video gaming on record, collectible Pokémon cards (and Yu-Gi-Oh and Magic the Gathering) are enjoying unprecedented demand.

The Pokémon Company literally can’t print the cards fast enough.