Post Lodha report, RPG Group keen to bid for IPL franchise
MUMBAI: Even as the din rises over the reluctance of Indian companies to participate in future auctions of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the RPG Group, which has been keen to bid for at least one team, expects valuations to become more reasonable and thus spark more interest.
According to sources familiar with the group’s plans, the Justice Lodha Committee report, which suspended the Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals and indicted senior officials of the two teams, will lower overall price expectations of the teams. This could fuel intense bidding as companies will aim to benefit from the large branding platform that IPL provides.
When contacted, RPG Enterprises chairman Harsh Goenka welcomed the recent developments but didn’t elaborate on the financial outcome. “I have always been very passionate about cricket and we had bid for the Kolkata franchise in 2008. Last year, our group company CEAT invested in the league as strategic timeout partner. It makes sense to bid for a team only if there is a proper purge and cleansing of the IPL administration, which today unfortunately stinks,” he told HT.
JSW OPTS OUT
On Thursday, JSW Sports, part of the Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Group, opted out of future bidding for IPL franchises saying the negativity had made it difficult for the group to associate with the league.
Incidentally, both JSW Sports and RPG Enterprises have been keen on acquiring the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), but had been put off due to steep valuations – the current owners Diageo were reportedly looking at a bid price of over ` 500 crore — and the reluctance of erstwhile owner Vijay Mallya to part with the team.
Industry sources said RPG and JSW were considering their bids in the ` 250-300 crore range.
A number of Indian companies, including the GMR Group and Reliance Industries have been competing to garner franchises as it would boost their brands and also give their companies opportunities to use the IPL platform for marketing activities.
Goenka said the recent developments were a temporary setback. “We continue to believe in the sport and potential of the league. The Supreme Court’s judgement marks hopefully the start of a campaign to clean corruption in the gentleman’s game which in a short time has catapulted the league to great heights of viewer and sponsor interest.”