MUMBAI: Strike two! Ahead of the 2019 edition of the Indian Premier League, the owners of Rajasthan Royals, the first-ever champions of the IPL, have decided to sell 50% of their stake in the franchise and have already approached the BCCI in this regard.
The sale, if it goes through, is expected to proceed on similar lines to what GMR Group worked out last year when the infrastructure major sold a 50% stake in GMR Sports, under which Delhi Daredevils was owned and operated, to JSW Sports for Rs 5.5 billion at an enterprise valuation of Rs 11 billion.
“Yes, Rajasthan Royals are selling a major part of their stake and the highest bidder will be getting it. What we have heard is that it is around 50% and some of the biggest business houses in the country are apparently interested in buying stakes,” a senior BCCI official privy to the development told PTI on the condition of anonymity.
A bid will be held which is likely to prominently feature Sanjeev Goenka, the former owner of Rising Pune Supergiants (RPS). Goenka had bought the rights for the franchise during the 2016 and 2017 seasons, when the Royals along with the Chennai Super Kings, were banned for their alleged involvement in the 2013 spot-fixing scandal. He is also the principal stakeholderowner of Indian Super League (ISL) team ATK.
Another big industrialist based out of western India with multiple business interests is also in the mix, the newswire reports.
“Mr Goenka has always been interested in coming back after he had a fairly good but short stint in the IPL. His team made it to the finals in one of the years. Let’s wait and watch how it all pans out,” the official added.
Jaipur IPL Cricket Private Limited, the holding company under which Rajasthan Royals operates, currently has three stakeholders – Manoj Badale (Emerging Media (IPL) Ltd), Suresh Chellaram family (Tresco International Ltd) and media baron Rupert Murdoch’s eldest son Lachlan Murdoch (Blue Water Estate Ltd).
The Royals previously also listed businessman Raj Kundra (married to Hindi film actress Shilpa Shetty) as a co-owner but he was forced to sell his stake and disassociate from the franchise after being indicted for his involvement in betting activities during the 2013 spot fixing scandal.
What the current shareholding is in Jaipur IPL Cricket Private Limited has not been revealed but what is known is that when Kundra had a stake in the holding company (through Kuki Investments Ltd), the stake split was:
Tresco International Ltd (44.2%)
Emerging Media (IPL) Ltd (32.4%)
Blue Water Estate Ltd (11.7%)
Kuki Investments Ltd (11.7%)
While there was speculation at the time of Kuki Investments’ divestment of stake on the exact nature of the share transfer, reports had said that Kundra’s stake was distributed among the three existing owners and not to a new buyer.
Assuming that the stake distribution was as per the holding that origically existed (when Kundra was on board), the current shareholding should (emphasis ours) be:
Tresco International Ltd (50.06%)
Emerging Media (IPL) Ltd (36.69%)
Blue Water Estate Ltd (13.25%)
Coming to possible price, the stake offload of Delhi Daredevils (now called Delhi Capitals after JSW bought in to the franchise) at Rs 11 billion means that RR would more than likely be south of that valuation, as per SportzPower’s reckoning.
