Sportradar Files for U.S. IPO After SPAC Merger Flops

The company, based in St. Gallen, Switzerland, in its filing Tuesday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission listed the size of offering as $100 million, a placeholder that will likely change. Sportradar had held talks with Horizon Acquisition Corp. II, a blank-check company started by Eldridge Industries co-founder Todd Boehly. 

SPAC transactions have become increasingly difficult to complete as investors have grown more selective about the private investments in public equity, or PIPEs, that are typically part of the deals. Lackluster performance by companies that have gone public through SPACs as well as scrutiny from short sellers, activists and regulators also have created hurdles to getting deals done.

Investor fatigue has thrown up challenges to the IPO market as a whole, delaying several listings planned for this month. Big transactions have delivered mixed results with Robinhood Markets Inc. falling below its offer price in its July trading debut. The online trading firm has bounced back since then, closing 23% above its IPO price on Tuesday. 

Sportradar led by Chief Executive Officer Carsten Koerl, counts Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Revolution Growth’s Evan Morgan among its largest investors, Tuesday’s filing shows. Its backers also include retired basketball star Michael Jordan and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.  

The company has over 150 sports league partners and provides data to more than 900 sports betting operators, including DraftKings Inc., which also went public through a SPAC, and Fanduel. 

Sportradar reported revenue of 272 million euros ($318 million) during the first six months of 2021, compared with 192 million euros for the same period last year. Its profit declined to about 18 million euros from 20 million euros during the same period last year, according to the filing

JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley are leading the offering. Sportradar plans to list on Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol SRAD.