{"id":248972,"date":"2022-12-22T15:00:55","date_gmt":"2022-12-22T21:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=248972"},"modified":"2022-12-22T13:57:14","modified_gmt":"2022-12-22T19:57:14","slug":"sportradar-lowers-debt-could-be-positioned-for-credit-upgrade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/sportradar-lowers-debt-could-be-positioned-for-credit-upgrade\/","title":{"rendered":"Sportradar Gains Financial Flexibility Via Loan Prepayment"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Sports betting data provider Sportradar (NASDAQ: SRAD) will enter 2023 with new-found financial flexibility after the company prepaid a nearly $446 million term loan.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_248973\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-248973\" data-style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-248973\" src=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/SRAD-142x142.jpg\" alt=\"Sportradar\" width=\"1200\" height=\"1199\" \/><figcaption  id=\"caption-attachment-248973\"class=\"text-description\">Sportradar executives and board members ring the opening bell at the Nasdaq in 2020. Fitch Ratings sees some positives for the stock. (Image: <em>Barron&#8217;s<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Not only does that early payment reduce leverage, it strengthens the Swiss company\u2019s balance sheet while providing more leeway to boost free cash flow. Those are important traits at a time when analysts and investors are scrutinizing the debt levels and pathways to profitability for companies with direct ties to the sports wagering industry.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"main-blockquote\"><p>SRAD\u2019s decision to prepay all of its floating-rate debt reflects a conservative move to avoid increased interest rates in 2022 and limited appetite, in our view, for transformational debt-funded mergers and acquisitions,\u201d said Fitch Ratings in a recent report.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Integral to the Sportradar thesis is that the company prepaid the aforementioned level in advance of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/sportradar-stock-slammed-following-morgan-stanley-downgrade\/\">interest rates likely rising<\/a> across Europe next year. With access to a $233.5 million credit facility, the data provider likely doesn\u2019t need to pursue added financing in 2023.<\/p>\n<h2>Sportradar Firming, Risks Remain<\/h2>\n<p>Sportradar stock is down 45.76% year-to-date, confirming the name is tracking other sports wagering equities lower, and that its not yet a risk-free bet.<\/p>\n<div class=\"callout\">\n<p>Sportradar provides data to sportsbook operators \u2014 an essential part of the wagering equation, particularly as the industry expands in the US. Because of its business model, Sportradar is tied to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/fanduel-sportradar-unveil-new-nba-data-sharing-agreement\/\">growth of regulated sports betting<\/a>, but it\u2019s not as consumer spending-dependent as are traditional sportsbook operators.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>While the company trimmed debt, analysts believe it needs to continue to be mindful of that trajectory and not get carried away with potentially costly consolidation activity.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFitch rates through economic cycles and has limited visibility on SRAD\u2019s financial policy beyond 2023. This is due to a lack of commitment by SRAD to a leverage policy that is below our upgrade threshold to \u2018BB,\u2019 added Fitch. \u201cThe rating has greater leverage headroom following the prepayment but we expect M&amp;A to remain a key component of SRAD\u2019s growth strategy. A re-leveraging of the balance sheet could occur within the next two to three years if appetite for investment spending increases.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Sportradar Upgrade Possible, but Not Guaranteed<\/h2>\n<p>Like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/sportradar-stock-favored-by-analysts-in-new-coverage\/\">so many gaming companies<\/a>, Sportradar is saddled with a junk credit rating and it could be a while before it moves into investment-grade territory. Even so, an upgrade to a better part of the high-yield space isn\u2019t out of the question.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"main-blockquote\"><p>We now expect funds from operation (FFO) leverage to be below our upgrade threshold in 2022. Operations in the US reported positive adjusted EBITDA for the first time since the IPO in the three months to September 2022,\u201d concluded Fitch. \u201cAn upgrade to \u2018BB\u2019 could be possible with increased visibility of SRAD\u2019s financial policy and Fitch-defined EBITDA margins (including amortization of sports rights) trending towards 20%.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Sportradar is currently rated \u201cBB-\u201c with no outstanding obligations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sports betting data provider Sportradar (NASDAQ: SRAD) will enter 2023 with new-found financial flexibility after the company prepaid a nearly $446 million term loan. Not only does that early payment reduce leverage, it strengthens the Swiss company\u2019s balance sheet while providing more leeway to boost free cash flow. Those are important traits at a time [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":248973,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,1074,16693],"tags":[81903,80968,82041],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Sportradar Lowers Debt, Could Be Positioned For Credit Upgrade<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Sportradar eliminates debt, positioned for possible credit upgrade if it maintains low leverage.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/sportradar-lowers-debt-could-be-positioned-for-credit-upgrade\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sportradar Lowers Debt, Could Be Positioned For Credit Upgrade\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Sportradar eliminates debt, positioned for possible credit upgrade if it maintains low leverage.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/sportradar-lowers-debt-could-be-positioned-for-credit-upgrade\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-12-22T21:00:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-12-22T19:57:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/SRAD.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1279\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Todd Shriber\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@etfgodfather\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Todd Shriber\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/sportradar-lowers-debt-could-be-positioned-for-credit-upgrade\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/sportradar-lowers-debt-could-be-positioned-for-credit-upgrade\/\",\"name\":\"Sportradar Lowers Debt, Could Be Positioned For Credit Upgrade\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/sportradar-lowers-debt-could-be-positioned-for-credit-upgrade\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/sportradar-lowers-debt-could-be-positioned-for-credit-upgrade\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/SRAD.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-12-22T21:00:55+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-12-22T19:57:14+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/f4cecf70a5032bc4e60eb73fc86d4a85\"},\"description\":\"Sportradar eliminates debt, positioned for possible credit upgrade if it maintains low leverage.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/sportradar-lowers-debt-could-be-positioned-for-credit-upgrade\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/sportradar-lowers-debt-could-be-positioned-for-credit-upgrade\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/sportradar-lowers-debt-could-be-positioned-for-credit-upgrade\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/SRAD.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/SRAD.jpg\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":1279,\"caption\":\"Sportradar executives and board members ring the opening bell at the Nasdaq in 2020. Fitch Ratings sees some positives for the stock. 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Todd got his start in financial markets as a reporter with Bloomberg News. Later, he became a trader at a Southern California-based long\/short hedge fund, where he specialized in the trading sector and international ETFs leading up to and during the financial crisis. He joined Casino.org in 2019. Currently, Todd analyzes, researches, and writes on ETFs for various web-based publications and financial services firms. Shriber has been featured and quoted in Barron's, CNBC.com, and The Wall Street Journal. His work can also be found on Benzinga, ETF Daily News, ETF Trends, MarketWatch, Fox Business, and Nasdaq.com. He currently resides in Las Vegas, where he enjoys golf and taking his black lab to the dog park. He's also an avid sports fan and likes to wager on college football and the NBA. You can also find him at the three-card poker and roulette table, even though he knows better. Contact Todd at todd.shriber@casino.org.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/muckrack.com\/todd-shriber\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/toddshriber\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/etfgodfather\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/todd-shriber\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Sportradar Lowers Debt, Could Be Positioned For Credit Upgrade","description":"Sportradar eliminates debt, positioned for possible credit upgrade if it maintains low leverage.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/sportradar-lowers-debt-could-be-positioned-for-credit-upgrade\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Sportradar Lowers Debt, Could Be Positioned For Credit Upgrade","og_description":"Sportradar eliminates debt, positioned for possible credit upgrade if it maintains low leverage.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/sportradar-lowers-debt-could-be-positioned-for-credit-upgrade\/","og_site_name":"Casino.org","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews","article_published_time":"2022-12-22T21:00:55+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-12-22T19:57:14+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":1279,"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/SRAD.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Todd Shriber","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@etfgodfather","twitter_site":"@Casino_Org","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Todd Shriber","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/sportradar-lowers-debt-could-be-positioned-for-credit-upgrade\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/sportradar-lowers-debt-could-be-positioned-for-credit-upgrade\/","name":"Sportradar Lowers Debt, Could Be Positioned For Credit Upgrade","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/sportradar-lowers-debt-could-be-positioned-for-credit-upgrade\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/sportradar-lowers-debt-could-be-positioned-for-credit-upgrade\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/SRAD.jpg","datePublished":"2022-12-22T21:00:55+00:00","dateModified":"2022-12-22T19:57:14+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/f4cecf70a5032bc4e60eb73fc86d4a85"},"description":"Sportradar eliminates debt, positioned for possible credit upgrade if it maintains low leverage.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/sportradar-lowers-debt-could-be-positioned-for-credit-upgrade\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/sportradar-lowers-debt-could-be-positioned-for-credit-upgrade\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/sportradar-lowers-debt-could-be-positioned-for-credit-upgrade\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/SRAD.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/SRAD.jpg","width":1280,"height":1279,"caption":"Sportradar executives and board members ring the opening bell at the Nasdaq in 2020. Fitch Ratings sees some positives for the stock. (Image: Barron's)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/sportradar-lowers-debt-could-be-positioned-for-credit-upgrade\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Financial","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/financial\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Sportradar Gains Financial Flexibility Via Loan Prepayment"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/","name":"Casino.org","description":"Latest Casino and Gaming News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/f4cecf70a5032bc4e60eb73fc86d4a85","name":"Todd Shriber","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-11-96x96.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-11-96x96.png","caption":"Todd Shriber"},"description":"Todd Shriber is a senior news reporter covering gaming financials, casino business, stocks, and mergers and acquisitions for Casino.org. Todd got his start in financial markets as a reporter with Bloomberg News. Later, he became a trader at a Southern California-based long\/short hedge fund, where he specialized in the trading sector and international ETFs leading up to and during the financial crisis. He joined Casino.org in 2019. Currently, Todd analyzes, researches, and writes on ETFs for various web-based publications and financial services firms. Shriber has been featured and quoted in Barron's, CNBC.com, and The Wall Street Journal. His work can also be found on Benzinga, ETF Daily News, ETF Trends, MarketWatch, Fox Business, and Nasdaq.com. He currently resides in Las Vegas, where he enjoys golf and taking his black lab to the dog park. He's also an avid sports fan and likes to wager on college football and the NBA. You can also find him at the three-card poker and roulette table, even though he knows better. 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