10 companies buy tender, 4 more said to be vying for owning the 2 new IPL teams
AS MANY AS 10 companies have paid an amount of Rs. 2 lakh each to pick up the invitation to tender and documents for the bidding of two new teams that will participate in the 2016 and 2017 seasons of the Indian Premier League (IPL), top officials at the BCCI said.
According to a report published in Mint, Chettinad Cements Ltd, RPG Enterprises, RP Sanjiv Goenka Group and Videocon Ltd are among those that have picked up the invitation to tender (ITT).
The forms were released soon after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) conducted its annual general meeting (AGM) in Mumbai earlier this month. The ITT documents are available for collection "by interested parties (against a formal request letter on official letterhead) at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai. The non-refundable tender fee was set at Rs. 2 lakh.
“Only parties that have purchased the ITT document (or belonging to the same group of firms on whose behalf the ITT document was purchased) are entitled to participate in the tender process,” the BCCI website adds.
IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla and BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur said the tender process has attracted a 'great response' and more than 10 companies have purchased the forms, along with four others who are considering the same. The last date to purchase the tender form is November 30. The Indian cricket board is expected to announce the two new teams in the first week of December.
Earlier this month, nine venues for the two new teams were shortlisted by the IPL governing council, from which Kochi and Jaipur were excluded. Interested parties can bid for venues from Chennai, Ahmedabad, Ranchi, Dharamsala, Indore, Kanpur, Cuttack, Nagpur and Vizag.
Of all the nine venues, Chennai is predictably the most wanted venue among purchasing companies. Chettinad Cements is among those vying for the venue.
MAMR Muthiah Chettiar, vice-chairman, Chettinad Cements, told Mint:
“The application has been procured but the decision on buying the franchise is yet to be taken.”
Kolkata's RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group has also bought the bid document. Goenka, who already owns a stake in the ISL franchise Atletico de Kolkata, said the group will be investing in another major sport in the near future. TFG had reported this news on November 14.
Goenka's brother, Harsh has also procured the document, and had publicly expressed his interest in buying one of the two new teams soon after the Lodha Committee suspended Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals.
“We are studying the BCCI proposal but no decision has been taken yet,” a spokesperson at RPG said.
Rumours of NDTV procuring the bid document are also doing the rounds. However, the media congolomerate has denied this for now, the Mint report said.
The Videocon group has been vying for an IPL franchise since the past five years. In 2010, Videocon was involved in an unsuccessful bid for the Pune franchise, which eventually went to the Sahara group. Videocon then intended to buy the now-defunct Deccan Chargers, but pulled out of the auction that year.
Intex Technologies and Yes Bank, two of IPL's sponsors may also be in contention. However, there has been no official confirmation from both companies regarding the same.
The BCCI is expecting to generate 'great value' from the two new teams that will be auctioned on December 8.
“Let maximum people bid for the franchises. The bidding will be done in a free, fair and transparent manner. We are expecting great value for the teams and are looking forward to successful IPL seasons in 2016 and 2017,” Thakur added.
