Torrent to Acquire Gujarat Titans IPL Franchise, Deal Estimated Between ₹6100-7800 Crores
"We were also in the race to acquire Gujarat Titans franchise in 2021. We placed a bid of ₹4653 crores but missed it then. This time, a friendly deal has been made between CVC Group and Torrent. The official deal will be signed once the lock-in period ends in February," said a senior official from Torrent Group. This confirms that Gujarat Titans' new boss will now be a Gujarat-based company. Torrent Group of Ahmedabad and CVC Capital Partners have reached an agreement to take over the IPL franchise Gujarat Titans. The deal has been made as a 'friendly handshake' between the two groups as the Titans are currently under a lock-in period.
Torrent Will Buy 60% Stake Instead of 100% Sources close to both groups say that instead of selling the full holding, CVC Group is selling the controlling stake to Torrent Group. Therefore, Torrent will acquire a 60% stake. CVC Group had purchased it for ₹5625 crores in 2021. It is worth noting that the Adani Group was also in the race to buy this franchise.
In 2021, Adani Group had placed a bid of ₹5100 crores, but CVC Group won the bid. The 18th season of IPL will start on March 21 and the final will be held on May 25. A total of 74 matches will be played in this season.
This period will end in February, around mid-month. According to Torrent's sources, the deal will be finalized by February 15. The deal amount has not been disclosed, but it is estimated to be between ₹6100 crores and ₹7800 crores.
Why Is CVC Selling Its Stake? CVC Group from Luxembourg follows a strategy based on the stock market pattern, i.e., book profits when the opportunity arises and exit.
In 2021, a bid was placed for 2 new teams. In the same year, a bid for adding two new teams to the IPL was held in Dubai. Six cities were in the race. Apart from Ahmedabad and Lucknow, the names of Cuttack, Guwahati, Indore, and Dharamsala were included. A total of 22 business houses expressed interest in buying the teams, including Adani Group, Glazer family (owner of English football club Manchester United), Torrent Pharma, Arvind Pharma, RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, Hindustan Times Media Group, Jindal Steel by former MP Naveen Jindal, Ronnie Screwvala, and several private equity firms.
RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group bought the Lucknow team for ₹7090 crores, while CVC Capital bought the Ahmedabad team for ₹5166 crores.