The sports data unicorn and its chairman, Tony Aquila, have parted ways 17 months after the tech investor and entrepreneur joined as Global Chairman of Sportradar Group, Sportico has learned.
“We thank Tony Aquila for his contributions and involvement as Chairman of the Board,” a Sportradar spokesperson said in an email. “Tony accomplished what he set out to do in moving the company forward and accelerating our growth in the U.S. market. He remains an investor in Sportradar, and we wish him well in all of his endeavors.”
Aquila didn’t respond to email and voicemail requests for comment.
He joined Switzerland-based Sportradar in February 2019 as the company doubled its board of directors by adding four outside executives. Aquila is a self-described serial entrepreneur who has been a part of business deals amounting to more than $15 billion in value, according to his personal website. He is CEO and sole owner of AFV Management Advisors, a Texas-based investment firm with $190 million in assets, according to a disclosure made to the SEC in March.
Sportradar provides in-depth sports data to media companies, bookmakers, sports federations and government authorities. Founded in 2000, the company has attracted a slate of high-profile private investors, including Mark Cuban, Michael Jordan and Ted Leonsis as well as the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.
As Sportico first reported, Sportradar has been exploring plans to go public in recent weeks, likely through a blank-check company, or SPAC. That’s the same way DraftKings went public earlier this year. Sportradar will likely need to attract the bidding of some well-capitalized SPACs, since Sportradar achieved a valuation of $2.4 billion more than two years ago in a private funding round.
Sportradar holds a series of valuable data rights for information prized in fantasy sports and gambling. Among them: It transmits NBA data and audio-visual feeds to gaming operators outside the U.S., distributes comprehensive NFL statistics to the media and legal sports betting operations inside and outside the U.S. and owns the rights to distribute real-time MLB game data feeds outside the U.S., as well as other rights for domestic U.S. baseball data. Most recently, Sportradar won the right to distribute National Hockey League data to sports books in the U.S. and abroad.
Aquila also formerly was chairman and CEO of Solera Holdings, a data and software company he founded. He retired from Solera last year, then later sued the company claiming it refused to pay $100 million in restricted stock and options. That suit was dismissed since Aquila and Solera agreed to resolve the matter through arbitration. Solera didn’t respond to a request on the status of the matter.
Aquila’s AFV Partners has purchased two air travel-related businesses this year, according to its website. Electric vehicle maker Canoo Holdings announced this week Aquila was nominated to its board of directors.