J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and UBS Investment Bank will be the lead book-running managers in the IPO, while Bank of America Securities, Deutsche Bank Securities, Jefferies and Canaccord Genuity will act as additional joint book-running managers.
In a letter to potential investors included in its SEC filing, Sportradar chief executive Carsten Koerl said that sports data has become more important than ever, thanks in part to the rise of live betting.
“Data and technology have never been more valuable to the sports and entertainment ecosystem. We’re grateful to all of our customers who choose Sportradar to power their offerings. We’re humbled to play a part in helping them grow and are committed to innovating alongside them. We are also honored to partner with some of the biggest sports leagues around the world to help them understand and harness the power of their own data,” Koerl said.
“Since the founding of our business we have always cared deeply about the integrity and fairness of competition. We partner with leagues and sports around the world to advance our vision of fair and transparent competition. Our latest innovation in this sector is a revolutionizing analytical system to support anti-doping agencies globally,” he continued.
Sportradar spent much of 2020 and early 2021 pursuing two paths toward becoming a public company—both the traditional IPO route and talking to special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) about a merger. The company got deep into the process with a SPAC led by Los Angeles Dodgers owner Todd Boehly, including a signed letter of intent at a US$10 billion valuation, but the parties were ultimately unable to finalize a deal.
Sports data, which Sportradar buys from leagues and government bodies and then sells to media companies and gambling operators, has grown more valuable in recent years as countries like the U.S. and Canada move to legalize sports betting. That’s created more opportunities for Sportradar, not just in data but also in new areas like media and marketing.
Sportradar’s investors include the NFL and a trio of NBA owners—Michael Jordan, Mark Cuban and Ted Leonsis. It was valued at US$2.4 billion in a minority stake sale back in 2018.
Source: GMB
