Sportadar Group Files Documents for Traditional U.S. IPO

The sports data provider, Sportradar Group AP, has officially filed for an initial public offering (IPO) with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Two months ago, Sportradar ended talks with Horizon Acquisition Corp II, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). That proposed deal would have allowed Swizterland-based Sportradar to go public.

Founded in 2001, Sportradar serves 1,612 companies across 120 countries. Sportradar's official partnerships include the NBA, NHL, MLB and NASCAR.

“The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the offering have not yet been determined,” according to a statement from the company. “Sportradar intends to list its common stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol ‘SRAD.’”

Koerl also noted the U.S. market as one of the “numerous” growth opportunities with sports transitioning to a digital medium.

“The global pandemic accelerated this (digital) transformation,” Koerl said.

Data around sports betting sites is becoming more important as groups target more opportunities for players to bet on outcomes beyond the final score and spread. This has led to operators targeting companies capable of gathering and distributing numerous data to media companies and the betting operators.

Sports teams are also using data to evaluate players and strategies, while fans and bettors use analytics to make more informed decisions about their wagers.

J.P. Morgan, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and UBS Investment Bank are the lead book-running managers for the offering. Deutsche Bank Securities, Canaccord Genuity, BofA Securities and Jeffries are serving as additional joint book-running managers.

In April, Genius Sports replaced Sportradar as the exclusive provider of NFL stats and sports betting data.

Sportradar is using its data to partner with individual NFL teams to help with their marketing efforts.

More on Sportradar

According to Tuesday’s filing, Sportradar CEO Carsten Koerl lists Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Revolution Growth’s Evan Morgan among the company’s biggest investors. Other backers include Michael Jordan and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.

Total, Sportradar has more than 150 sports league partners and is the data provider for more than 900 sports betting operators, including DraftKings Sportsbook and FanDuel Sportsbook.

For the first six months of 2021, Sportradar reported $318 million in revenue, an increase of nearly $94 million from the same period in 2020.

Editor's Note: This story has been updated to reflect the companies Sportradar serves and its partnerships.