DraftKings, FanDuel end merger attempt

Fantasy sports giants DraftKings and FanDuel have ended their planned merger, officials for both sites announced Thursday.

DraftKings and FanDuel, which are the two biggest daily fantasy sports sites, had announced their intentions to merge last year.

However, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission announced last month that it would attempt to block the merger because the companies, if merged, would control more than 90 percent of the American market for daily paid fantasy sports contests.

"FanDuel decided to merge with DraftKings last November, because we believed that this deal would have increased investment in growth and product development thereby benefiting consumers and the greater sports entertainment industry. While our opinion has not changed, we have determined that it is in the best interest of our shareholders, customers, employees, and partners to terminate the merger agreement and move forward as an independent company," FanDuel CEO Nigel Eccles said in a statement. "There is still enormous, untapped market opportunity for FanDuel, and we will continue to execute our strategy to grow our business and further expand the fantasy sports industry."

Said DraftKings CEO Jason Robins: "We believe it is in the best interests of our customers, employees, and investors to terminate our agreement to merge with FanDuel and move forward as a separate company."

Both sites will continue to operate independently of each other.