Gujarat Titans might be getting a new owner as the Luxemborg-based CVC Capital Partners are reportedly in talks with Adani Group and Torrent Group to sell a controlling stake in the Indian Premier League franchise. (More Cricket News)
A report published in the Economic Times on Friday quoted a source in the knowledge of the proceedings as saying that the current owners CVC are willing to offload a majority stake in the Titans franchise.
Economic Times report stated that the current value of the franchise, which has featured in last three IPL seasons, could be between $1 billion and $1.5 billion.
Private equity firm CVC Capital Partners who have investments in multiple sporting leagues including La Liga bought the Gujarat franchise for Rs 5,625 crore and later named it Gujarat Titans.
"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," an official in the know of developments told .
Adani Group already owns a Women's Premier League (WPL) and an International League T20 franchise in UAE.
Adani and Torrent Group, both based in Ahmedabad, had unsuccessfully bid for the franchise. Adani Group had placed a Rs 5,100 crore bid while Torrent Group had also put a bid of Rs 4,653 crore. However, Ultimately, CVC Capital's Irelia Sports India pipped both to acquire the franchise.
The brand value of Gujarat Titans skyrocketed when they won the trophy in their debut IPL season in 2022. In the next season, the Titans lost the final to Chennai Super Kings.
BCCI's lock-in period for the two new franchises sold in 2021 prevents the owners from selling a stake till February 2025.
"IPL franchises have been attracting a lot of investor attention since the league has established itself as an attractive asset with solid cash flows," a second official said.
In an earlier interaction with the same publication, Gujarat Titans COO Arvinder Singh had said that the franchise will "attain profitability in the next media rights cycle".
The current media deal was signed in 2023 and will be in place till 2027.
