New Delhi: Adani Group and Torrent Group are in talks with private equity firm CVC Capital Partners for the sale of controlling stake in Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Gujarat Titans, it was reported. CVC is willing to offload a majority stake in the IPL franchise while retaining a minority holding, Economic Times reported citing people in the know. This comes as Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI’s) lock-in period that stops new teams from selling a stake will end in February 2025.
Gujarat Titans- a three-year-old franchise- could be valued at between $1 billion and $1.5 billion. CVC bought the franchise in 2021 for ₹5,625 crore.
An official in the know told ET, “Having missed out on the opportunity to own IPL’s Ahmedabad franchise in 2021, both Adani and Torrent are vying aggressively to buy a majority stake in Gujarat Titans. For CVC, it’s a great opportunity to monetise its stake in the franchise.”
Another official said as per the outlet, “IPL franchises have been attracting a lot of investor attention since the league has established itself as an attractive asset with solid cash flows.”
Gautam Adani has already made investments in cricket by acquiring teams in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) and UAE-brd International League T20. In 2023, Adani bagged WPL’s Ahmedabad franchise with a top bid of ₹1,289 crore.
Earlier, Gujarat Titans COO Arvinder Singh said the franchise will “attain profitability in the next media rights cycle. Even the original ten franchisees took four to five years before they turned profitable. We are confident that not only will we turn profitable, but our brand value will also increase exponentially.”
