Gujarat Titans' Owners To Change? Adani, Torrent Lead The Race

According to recent reports, Luxembourg-based private equity firm CVC Capital Partners, which holds a controlling stake in the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Gujarat Titans, is considering selling its ownership of the successful team. CVC Capital Partners is reportedly in discussions with Adani Group and Torrent Group to sell a majority stake in the IPL team Gujarat Titans. The private equity firm intends to keep a minority stake after the sale. The three-year-old Gujarat Titans could potentially be valued between Rs. 7500 Crores and Rs. 11250 Crores. The Titans reached the IPL 2023 final but were defeated by the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in a thrilling encounter. The team management appointed young opener Shubman Gill as the new captain ahead of the IPL 2024 season, which turned out to be a disastrous one.

Gujarat Titans' owners to change? Adani, Torrent lead the race

A year after a major change in captaincy, IPL franchise Gujarat Titans' owner, CVC Capital Partners, is seeking to sell its majority stake and is in discussions with Adani and Torrent Group. According to recent reports, Luxembourg-based private equity firm CVC Capital Partners, which holds a controlling stake in the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Gujarat Titans, is considering selling its ownership of the successful team. CVC Capital Partners is reportedly in discussions with Adani Group and Torrent Group to sell a majority stake in the IPL team Gujarat Titans. The private equity firm intends to keep a minority stake after the sale.

CVC Capital Partners in talks with Adani Group and Torrent Group

CVC Capital Partners reportedly seeks to sell its majority stake in the IPL team while retaining a minority share. BCCI's lock-in period preventing stake sales will end in February 2025. During this time, CVC has been in discussions with Gautam Adani's group and the Torrent Group. According to recent reports, the Gujarat Titans, a three-year-old IPL team, are valued between $1 billion and $1.5 billion. CVC Capital Partners acquired the franchise for ₹5,625 crore in 2021. Adani's group and Torrent Group are interested in obtaining a majority stake in the Ahmedabad-based team.

"Having missed out on the opportunity to own IPL's Ahmedabad franchise in 2021, Adani and Torrent are vying aggressively to buy a majority stake in Gujarat Titans. For CVC Capital Partners, it's a great opportunity to monetize its stake in the franchise," an official said.

"IPL franchises have been attracting a lot of investor attention since the league has established itself as an attractive asset with solid cash flows," another official said.

Unlike Torrent, the Adani Group has made significant investments in cricket. They acquired the Ahmedabad franchise in the Women's Premier League (WPL) with a top bid of ₹1,289 crore in 2023. Additionally, Adani Sportsline has invested in the UAE International T20 League as well as other international cricket ventures. 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," Arvinder Singh said.

For the fiscal year ending March 2023, Irelia Sports, owned by CVC Capital, reported a net loss of ₹429 crore on revenue of ₹359 crore. According to Houlihan Lokey, the Gujarat Titans had a brand value of $124 million, ranking eighth in the IPL, with the Chennai Super Kings leading at $231 million.