Cricket Pulse

Rajasthan Royals, the winners of the inaugural Indian Premier League, could soon be going public. According to sources, the owners of the team, Emerging Media, have decided to float some equity in the market and get listed on the stock exchange.

While the sources couldn’t confirm under what name the listing will be done, they said it was certain that the franchisee would go public “very soon”. “There are many ways to go public and they are working out the modalities,” a source close to Emerging Media told TOI on Wednesday.

This may not seem like the ideal time to be coming out with an equity issue, but the owners of Emerging Media are said to be optimistic and believe that they can cash in on the brand value earned from winning the first IPL.

“Rajasthan Royals will again be visible in the Champions League (which involves the Jaipur and Chennai teams and T20 league finalists from South Africa, Australia and Pakistan) and that is something which will help the stock,” the source said.

When TOI contacted Manoj Badale, the owner of Emerging Media, he refused to comment on the development.

The owners of IPL champs Rajasthan Royals are planning to float some equity in the market, sources said. While the owners Emerging Media refused to comment, officials of other franchises said they were not sure if going public was allowed under IPL rules. However, top sources in the IPL said if there was a problem, there could be a special order and this would be discussed at the three-day meeting between the IPL and franchisees in Goa next month.

Under IPL rules, franchisees can sell only a minority stake in the franchise before the three-year period of their contract ends. That means up to 49% of Rajasthan Royals could be up for grabs.

While there has been speculation in the past about franchisees like Shah Rukh Khan selling minor stakes in his Kolkata Knight Riders team, Jaipur could become the first case of a stake actually being sold.

Some other franchises like Chennai Super Kings, Kings XI Punjab and Hyderabad’s Deccan Chargers haven’t done booming business in their first year, but sources said they were not rushing to dilute their stakes just yet. They prefer to wait and watch.

Richer franchise owners like Mukesh Ambani, who owns Mumbai Indians, liquor baron Vijay Mallya (Bangalore Royal Challengers) and the GMR group (Delhi Daredevils) apparently also have no plans for selling stakes as of now.

Similarly, SRK is said to be keen on holding on for the moment. Sources said the Bollywood star has a dream of making his franchise the most sought after team in the world.

But that’s as of now. Whether Rajasthan Royals becomes a trend-setter and others take up the cue remains to be seen