Adani Group seeks to co-own Gujarat Titans stake in IPL

The Adani Group is in discussions to co-own a majority stake of the Gujarat Titans cricket franchise in the Indian Premiere League, or IPL, along with the Torrent Group, according to a media report. Gujarat Titans, a team that is three years old in IPL, is valued at $1-1.5 billion.

CVC Capital Partners, the Luxembourg-based private equity and investment advisory firm, which currently has a controlling stake in the T-20 cricket franchise, is in talks with the Adani Group and the Torrent Group to sell its majority holding in the team and keep a minority share.

The Adani Group’s earlier cricket ventures include buying the Ahmedabad-based Gujarat Giants franchise in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) last year with a bid of Rs 1,289 crore, besides the Gulf Giants team in the UAE International League T20.

"Having missed out on securing the Ahmedabad franchise during the 2021 IPL expansion, both Adani and Torrent are now competing fervently to acquire a majority stake in the Gujarat Titans,” an official said, according to a report in The Economic Times.

The lock-in period set by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) that bars new teams from selling a stake ends in February 2025 and CVC Capital Partners, which bought the Gujarat Titans team in 2021 for Rs 5,625 crore, will now have “a great opportunity to monetise its stake in the franchise”, the news report added. Back in 2021, the Adani Group had submitted a bid of Rs 5,100 crore while the Torrent Group had suggested an amount of Rs 4,653 crore for the Gujarat franchise.

TheSquirrels had reported in June that the business value of IPL grew to $16.4 billion in 2024 according to the American investment bank Houlihan Lokey, registering a 6.3 per cent increase over the past year. The standalone brand value of IPL, the world’s most popular Twenty-20 cricket tournament, rose to $3.4 billion in the past year at a rate of 6.3 per cent, the report titled IPL Valuation Study 2024 added.

Among teams, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) holds the top position as the most valued franchise with a brand value of $231 million, having achieved a growth of 9 per cent over the past year, Houlihan Lokey’s analysis said. The investment bank valued Gujarat Titans at $124 million, which places the team at number eight among IPL franchises.

This year, IPL 2024 winners Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) witnessed the highest growth in terms of brand value, with a 19.3 per cent rise over the past year, the report said.