Sport data giant Sportradar slapped with lawsuits in UK and US
The $5bn valued sport data giant Sportradar has been slapped with a pair of lawsuits for “aggressive actions” towards software company Altenar.
Action has been filed in London’s High Court, while there is a Stateside suit heading to the US District Court of New Jersey. Both are claims for multi-million pounds and dollars respectively.
The filings allege that Sportradar unlawfully prevented IMG from renewing a contract with Altenar for betting data at a time when Sportradar and IMG – which has since been acquired by the data behemoth – were supposed to be operating independently of each other.
Altenar alleges breaches of UK competition rules by Sportradar, whose acquisition of IMG Arena was approved by the Competition and Markets Authority after a merger inquiry relating to market share concerns.
An Altenar spokesperson said: “Sportradar is trying to maintain its market dominance by unfairly eliminating its competitors.
“It is relying on its control over key sports data to squash businesses with a competing offer, despite previously decrying other companies for doing exactly the same.
“We remain open to discussions with Sportradar, but its unilateral and aggressive actions have left us with no choice but to take legal action.”
Sportradar set for court?
Sportradar investors include Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly, who sits on the board, as well as NBA superstar Michael Jordan and Dallas Mavericks co-owner Mark Cuban. The firm’s largest shareholder is the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.
The betting data giant has a market cap of $5bn, having recorded revenues of $1.5bn last year with profits of $110m, and last month it extended its integrity services deal with Fifa ahead of this summer’s World Cup.
Altenar is “seeking damages in the millions of pounds, instructing leading competition law firm Geradin Partners to represent it in proceedings”, according to a statement.
A Sportradar spokesperson said: “While we prefer not to comment on pending litigation, we strongly disagree with the claims made by Altenar, which we believe are without merit and contain numerous inaccuracies.
“Sportradar will address these through the legal process. We encourage stakeholders to rely on our public disclosures and SEC filings for a complete and accurate view of our business.”