The Peter Thiel-backed company that plans to stage an Olympics-style event in which athletes are encouraged to use performance-enhancing substances is in talks to raise around $300 million, according to a report.
Christian Angermayer, a co-founder of the Enhanced Games, told Bloomberg News that initial discussions have been held with several potential investors, including sovereign wealth funds, for a mixture of debt and equity financing.
The company hopes to begin staging sporting events, which have been dubbed “Olympics on steroids,” beginning next year.
The Enhanced Games, which is open to anyone, will not test athletes for drugs.
It plans to hold competitions in track and field, swimming, weightlifting and other events.
It is the brainchild of Australian-British businessman Aron D’Souza, who along with Angermayer led the litigation that eventually bankrupted the news site Gawker after it published a story about Thiel.
Thiel subsequently funded a lawsuit brought by former pro wrestler Hulk Hogan against Gawker over an unrelated story, leading to the news site shutting down.
Officials with the International Olympic Committee and other sporting bodies have denounced the plans to allow athletes to use performance-enhancing drugs, saying that it violates fair play and poses health risks.
D’Souza told The Post earlier this year that doping among Olympic athletes is far more widespread than is thought.
“I believe science is on my side,” Angermayer, a co-founder of Enhanced Games, told Bloomberg News.
He said that all athletes who participate in Enhanced Games will be allowed to take substances that are approved by the Food and Drug Administration, including anabolic steroids and growth hormones.
“They have very, very little risk if done properly,” he said.
Angermayer said Enhanced Games began with around $10 million in capital.
Balaji Srinivasan, the former chief technology officer of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, is also among the investors backing the venture.
“My body, my choice, your body, your choice,” D’Souza told The Post earlier this year when asked about the philosophy behind allowing athletes to juice.
“Individuals should be able to make choices about your body and no one — whether it’s a sports federation or the government — should be able to tell them what to do about it,” he said.
D’Souza said that Enhanced Games will strip out the bureaucracy and red tape that he says is primarily responsible for the high cost of staging the Olympics.
He also criticized the Olympics for failing to adequately pay its athletes.
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