At the Morgan Stanley Global Consumer and Retail Conference held on 4 December, Sportradar’s CFO, Craig Felenstein, shared perspectives on the company’s growth trajectory and strategic priorities. Felenstein emphasized a balanced commitment to organic growth and targeted acquisitions, leveraging the company’s robust financial foundation to maintain momentum despite rising macroeconomic challenges.
Sportradar Carefully Evaluates M&A Opportunities
Felenstein highlighted that Sportradar’s primary focus remains on bolstering its current portfolio of products and services. The company’s robust internal growth has set a high benchmark for external investments, making acquisitions challenging yet necessary. Sportradar remains open to mergers and acquisitions, but Felenstein emphasized that targets must meet the company’s high growth expectations.
Sportradar sits in an industry that has a lot of tailwind behind it. When you think about what we can do with that, we add a lot of value to the ecosystem through product generation and service innovation.
Craig Felenstein, Sportradar CEO
Felenstein noted that Sportradar was primarily interested in fostering organic growth, adding that any acquisition must significantly impact the business to justify the investment. The CEO added that the company was taking a blanket approach to scouting for acquisitions across betting, advertising, technology, and services as long as the target could add sustainable long-term value.
Recent acquisitions include the $20 million purchase of XLMedia’s affiliate capabilities. The agreement, which includes an additional $10 million contingent upon performance by April 2025, adds to Sportradar’s ability to acquire customers for sportsbook operators. This deal perfectly highlights Felenstein’s M&A approach, supplementing Sportradar’s growth without altering its trajectory.
A Cutting-Edge Portfolio Is Imperative for Success
Felenstein also focused on Sportradar’s ongoing commitment to innovation. He noted that pioneering new products and solutions naturally enhanced the company’s ability to attract new customers and gain an advantage over competition in the sector. However, Felenstein revealed that technological advancements also benefited customers like sportsbooks, creating a mutually beneficial relationship.
If we come up with new products and services, there’s a lot of conversation with clients about how to grow the overall relationship over time.
Craig Felenstein, Sportradar CEO
An example of Sportradar’s innovative mindset would be July’s launch of an industry-first solution that embeds live sports data and betting content into video ads for its paid social marketing service. The new feature now allows Sportradar’s clients to deliver more relevant ads at scale, with increased customer engagement and campaign effectiveness.
Sportradar’s dual focus on organic growth and strategic acquisitions positions the company at the helm of the global sports data and betting industry. While Felenstein admitted that no large-scale acquisitions are currently not on the horizon, Sportradar remains alert to opportunities to expand its portfolio and maintain its impressive momentum.
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