One of the most successful franchises Chennai Super Kings (CSK) has scripted history to become the country’s first sports Unicorn ahead of the 15th season of Indian Premier League (IPL).
CSK’s market cap has touched a high of Rs 7,600 crores and its share in the grey market trading ranged in the Rs 210-225 price band.
The Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led CSK, which won its fourth IPL title in Dubai broke all valuation records, now has a market cap more than its parent entity, India Cements.
According to media reports, India Cements’ market cap stood at Rs 6,869 crores on Friday.
CSK’s latest IPL victory and the addition of two franchises to the league have caused the Chennai team’s market cap to surge ahead.
“Brand CSK will outgrow Brand India Cements. If you look at the history of franchise-based leagues in the US, it will outgrow everything. Passion for cricket is so much in India. The road between countries will see franchise-based leagues getting precedence as we go along," — N Srinivasan, the managing director of India Cements and former president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was quoted by an Indian media outlet.
After Sanjiv Goenka-owned RPSG Group bought IPL’s Lucknow franchise (Lucknow Super Giants) with 7,000-crore plus bid & CVC Capital acquired Ahmedabad franchise for 5,625 crores, the CSK share price further sky-rocketed.
The shares of Chennai Super Kings Cricket Limited (CSKCL), which controls CSK, had hit an all-time high in the unlisted market on October 26, 2021, surging from Rs 110-120 per share to crossing the Rs 220-mark in trade within a week.
The CSK stock price has soared more than 2,000 per cent in just three years, from the level of Rs 12-15 in November 2018.
Another factor that has contributed to the making of “Brand CSK” is its unique fan following and the franchise building the team around its growing band of followers.
