Swiss-based Sportradar announced Tuesday it filed documents for an initial public offering.
The sports betting data and services company was close to a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) to go public earlier this year. The deal fell apart in June and the company put the IPO route back on the table.
Still early in the IPO process, the number and price of shares are not known, according to a release. Sportradar plans to list under the ticker symbol “SRAD” on the Nasdaq Global Select Market.
“Sitting here today, I see numerous opportunities for growth, especially as new sports betting markets such as the US accelerate and our customers turn to us for new products and continued innovation,” Sportradar founder and CEO Carsten Koerl wrote in the SEC filing.
“By leveraging our sports analytics expertise, rich datasets, artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities, global network, and connections to sports leagues around the world, we believe that we will shape the future of sports.”
Sportradar’s rise
Founded in 2001, the company has been looking to go public since at least last year. In its filing, Sportradar said it generated $318.6 million in revenue during the first six months of the year, up 42%.
In 2018, Sportradar was valued at $2.4 billion. Investors in the company include NBA team owners Michael Jordan, Mark Cuban and Ted Leonsis.
Sportradar clients include:
- FIFA
- MLB
- NASCAR
- NBA
- NHL
The fast rise of the US sports betting industry has fueled the need for sports data, especially as sportsbooks look to increase their in-play betting options.
Sportradar SPAC deal fell through
The IPO filing comes following the breakdown of merger talks with Horizon Acquisition Corp. II earlier this summer. Those talks initially began in March 2021.
The SPAC deal valued Sportradar at $10 billion.
SPAC became a popular way to go public throughout 2020, including deals that took DraftKings, Genius Sports, Rush Street Interactive and Golden Nugget public. The “blank check” companies continued to flood into the market, but the thirst for the deals waned this year.
Growing need for sports data
The use of official league data in sports betting is front and center, and could end up in the courts. Several states include official league data mandates and leagues have lobbied for the use to “ensure the accuracy and consistency of betting outcomes.” The sports betting industry has pushed back on that narrative, as it did on its predecessor in the integrity fee.
Sportradar’s chief competitor, Genius Sports, recently took over the NFL‘s official data deal. An increase in prices for the data caused industry pushback.
Earlier this month, DraftKings became the first sportsbook to partner with Genius for the official NFL data.
