The owners of three Indian Premier League franchises have initiated discussions with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) regarding their respective capital raising strategies, Mint has reported.
KPH Dreams Cricket, owners of Kings XI Punjab, and JSW GMR Cricket, parent company of Delhi Capitals, are considering a public listing, while Rajasthan Royals is planning to raise private equity funds, the business daily reports.
The report highlighted that these discussions are currently in their preliminary stages.
Parth Jindal, chairman of JSW GMR Cricket, emphasized the need for clarity from the BCCI on whether IPL franchises can access capital markets and go public. Jindal also revealed that no official approach had been made to the BCCI at this stage, as the inquiries were still informal. He further mentioned that other teams had also made official inquiries, and the BCCI had committed to providing clarity in due course.
Jindal hinted at the possibility of merging Pretoria Capitals and Dubai Capitals to create a consolidated cricket entity that could potentially be taken public in the future.
Chennai Super Kings (CSK), the second most valuable IPL franchise, falls under Chennai Super Kings Cricket Ltd, owned by India Cements Ltd. Notably, this company was demerged from India Cements, and its shares have been reportedly trading in the grey market at an approximate valuation of Rs 6,000 crore, the report adds.
As per a recent industry report, the standalone brand value of the Indian Premier League is now US$3.2 billion, up 80% from US$1.8 billion in 2022.
Besides, the report also says that the IPL’s media rights have grown at a CAGR of 18 per cent from 2008 to 2023.
