Sportradar: SGBA’s First Unicorn!

Some hot news hit the St.GallenBodenseeArea (SGBA) in midsummer: The St.Gallen-based international sports data company Sportradar now belongs to the species of the unicorns. As generally known, „unicorns“ are startups with a valuation exceeding 1 billion Dollars. In Switzerland they are a rare species. And one of the country’s two unicorns hails from the SGBA.

Sportradar’s new valuation came in the wake of a 35% stake sale by minority stake holder and private equity company EQT to two new strategic investors. The deal with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) and the well-known Silicon Valley investment company TCV (which has held stakes in Facebook, AirBnB and others) results in an enterprise value of USD 2,4 billion. EQT didn’t pull out of Sportradar entirely but plans to reinvest part of the proceedings from the sale.

Sportradar collects data from approx. 200'000 events in 13 sports per year, generating up to 5 billion data records daily. Sportradar offers this statistical data, for instance about offside and red cards in football (soccer), aces or foot faults in tennis, or home runs and strike-outs in baseball, to major sports associations and leagues, media and betting partners. Sportradar data also helps detect possible fraud and manipulation in the betting market associated with extremely unlikely events in sports competitions.

The products and services of Sportradar are in high demand – accordingly, the company’s growth rate and profitability have been impressive: Within three years, the company and its 1700 employees tripled its revenues to 290 million Dollars in 2017, while operating profit rose to 43 million.

Carsten Koerl, Sportradar’s CEO and majority owner, as well as resident in the SGBA’s canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden, said he was excited about the collaboration with his new North American partners and vowed “to continue to develop best-in-class, integrity and technology-driven services as we expand into new market segments.“

We at the SGBA are excited about Sportradar becoming Switzerland’s second unicorn and grateful to witness this massive success story in our region – congratulations!

Find out more about Sportradar’s sports data and content services: www.sportradar.com