Fanatics China will be a joint venture with investment firm Hillhouse Capital, an Asia-focused private equity fund. : As Fanatics continues to hold off on a potential IPO, the sports merchandise company is busy expanding global operations, this time in China. The Michael Rubin-led company is starting Fanatics China, a joint venture with investment firm Hillhouse Capital, an Asia-focused private equity fund with companies in Asia's e-commerce and retail sectors, the company told CNBC. Sources close to the deal told CNBC Fanatics expects the "venture alone to be over a $1 billion piece of business in China."