Chennai Super Kings’ unlisted shares trading at Rs 75-80, reaches Rs 2,500 crore market cap on unofficial market

In FY20, India Cement held over 30 percent stake in CSK.

Investor interest in Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK) seems to have perked up with unlisted shares of the team trading at Rs 75-80 each, much higher than the Rs 45-55 it fetched on the unofficial market till June 2020, but slightly lower than March 2021.

The unlisted stock has a market cap of Rs 2,500 crore. This comes even as the 14th edition of IPL 2021 is still underway, a winner is yet almost a month away, The Economic Times reported.

Analah Capital founder Vaishali Dhankani noted that CSK is the only sports team in India, of which shares are available for public investment, and garners great interest due to past performances.

She added that its value is “bound to increase” when the COVID-19 situation improves.

Research firm Duff & Phelps has however lowered the brand value of CSK taking into account the impact of COVID-19 on sporting events, adding that the team’s brand value toppled 16.5 percent to Rs 611 crore in 2020, the report said.

In terms of IPL performance, CSK has won 106/180 matches till 2020 and has participated in 11/13 IPL editions during which it won the tournament three times and placed second five times.

CSK was carved out of India Cements, which is the shareholder and trustee of the franchise, in 2015. This was done after the match-fixing scandal that year which led to CSK being banned from participating in the subsequent IPL edition.

In FY20, India Cement held over 30 percent stake in CSK. The unlisted shares were released in 2018 amid the corruption and betting charges placed against it.

Gennext Investerade’s Sunil Chandak told the paper that the team seems “set to grow and has shrugged off past baggage.”