Torrent may be frontrunner to acquire Gujarat Titans IPL team from CVC

Torrent may be frontrunner to acquire Gujarat Titans IPL team from CVC

An ongoing internal restructuring process at CVC Capital Partners has prompted the French private equity firm to consider selling its stake in the Indian Premier League (IPL) team, Gujarat Titans, people aware of the matter said.

CVC’s decision to divest its stake in the franchise was initiated around March, and talks are ongoing with several parties, the people said, requesting anonymity.

The Economic Times reported on Friday that CVC was looking to sell its stake in Gujarat Titans and that Adani Group and Torrent were in the running for the cricket team.

Torrent may be the frontrunner to buy the stake, people aware of the development said. “The current capital allocation plan at Adani may not permit the group to take over a sports franchise at this juncture, while for Torrent, it may give it the much-needed entry (into the business of sports) it has been scouting for a few years,” said one of the people cited above.

Emails sent to Torrent and CVC on the development remained unanswered till publishing the article.

CVC restructuring

Amit Soni, a partner in CVC Capital India, is said to have stepped down from his role as part of the restructuring exercise and Siddharth Patel, a managing partner at CVC, based out of Singapore, is believed to have taken charge of the business in India, according to the people cited above. Along with the change in management structure, the French PE major is believed to have placed a few portfolios on review, including its entire stake in Gujarat Titan. Gujarat Titans have so far played in three IPL seasons and won the trophy in 2022, its first year.

When the bidding for Gujarat Titans opened in 2021, Adani and Torrent were said to be interested in picking up the outfit, though CVC eventually outbid them. While the a clause in the IPL contracts which restricts transfer of ownership within three years from acquiring rights for an outfit, the restriction is said to end by February 2025. “By then, a buyer would have been identified,” said a senior executive aware of the ongoing process.

Reports peg the valuation of Gujarat Titan at $1 – 1.5 billion though the deal may conclude at a discount to these numbers. CVC acquired the franchise for Rs 5,625 crore.