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| Clermont Meridian Trading Reveals Sportradar Filing for U.S. IPO After SPAC Talks Break Off |
Sportradar Group AG, a sports data provider, filed for an initial public offering in the United States after merger talks with a special purpose acquisition company fell down, according to analysts from financial services firm Clermont Meridian Trading.
The business, based in St. Gallen, Switzerland, indicated the size of the offering as $100 million in registration with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday, but that figure is expected to alter. Sportradar had been in talks with Horizon Acquisition Corp. II, a blank-check business founded by Todd Boehly, a co-founder of Eldridge Industries.
Investors have become more cautious about the private investments in public equity, or PIPEs, often part of SPAC transactions, making them more challenging to complete. Short sellers, activists, and regulators have all raised obstacles to get acquisitions done, as has the poor performance of companies that went public through SPACs.
"Investor fatigue has posed a problem to the IPO market as a whole, postponing a number of IPOs scheduled for this month. With Robinhood Markets Inc. sliding below its offer price in its July trading debut, big transactions have produced mixed consequences. The internet trading firm has bounced back since then, finishing 23 percent above its IPO price on Tuesday." Matthew Bird, Clermont Meridian Trading’s Institutional Director of Equities, stated,
With roughly half of Sportradar's shares, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, led by founder and CEO Carsten Koerl, is the company's major shareholder. According to Tuesday's filing, Koerl owns 34% of the stock, while Revolution LLC veteran Evan Morgan's Radcliff owns 5.2 percent.
Michael Jordan, the former NBA great, and Mark Cuban, the Dallas Mavericks owner, are among the company's backers.
DraftKings Inc., which also went public through a SPAC, and Fanduel are among the company's 150 sports league partners, and it offers data to over 900 sports betting operators.
During the first six months of 2021, Sportradar reported revenue of 272 million euros ($318 million), up from 192 million euros in the same period last year. According to the report, its profit fell to around 18 million euros from 20 million euros during the previous year.
The offering is led by JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley. Sportradar intends to list under the symbol SRAD on the Nasdaq Global Select Market.