|
| Shilpa Shetty, partner buy 12% in Rajasthan Royals |
| BS Reporters / New Delhi/Mumbai Feb 04, 2009, 00:06 IST |
|
Film star Shilpa Shetty and her business partner Raj Kundra today bought about 12 per cent in the Indian Premier League (IPL) team Rajasthan Royals Jaipur for $16.8 million (about Rs 80.6 crore).
Shetty is the fourth representative from the film fraternity to own a cricket team. Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla (who own the Kolkata team Knight Riders) and Preity Zinta (who co-owns Kings XI of Chandigarh with Jeh Wadia) are the others.
With this deal, the valuation of Rajasthan Royals, which won the maiden IPL tournament in 2008, has more than doubled to around $140 million in about one year since the cricket franchisee was bought at last year’s auction for $67 million, the lowest price paid by its owners Emerging Media (in which Rupert Murdorch’s son Lachlan has a stake). The highest price tag for a franchisee team was $112 million paid for Mumbai Indians team owned by Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Industries.
This move puts a question-mark on the high valuation of $175-200 million expected by the Deccan Chargers Hyderabad, promoted by media firm Deccan Chronicle, which has been on a lookout for strategic investors and buyers for the past few months.
Deccan Chargers ended at the bottom of the heap on match performance all through the 46-day tournament held between April and June, 2008.
IPL is a Twenty20 format cricket tournament promoted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in which eight franchise teams representing as many cities participated last year. Under the originial schedule, IPL tournament will continue for the next nine years. The second round of the popular format is expected to kick off in May this year.
Rajasthan Royals was also among the two profitable teams (after Kolkata Knight Riders co-owned by film actor Shah Rukh Khan ), making a net profit of about Rs 6 crore.
“All smart investors are investing now because of these valuations. Ultimately, it’s a financial decision that is aimed at financial returns. And I think only two teams have shown the potential for investments — Rajasthan Royals and Knight Riders — because of the professional manner in which they are being run, said Anirban Das Blah, vice president and co-founder of Globosports, a sports marketing firm.
With their investments, Shetty and Kundra, a UK-based entrepreneur and the CEO of Essential General Trading LLC, a Dubai based international trading company with multiple business interest, have now become the co-owners of Rajasthan Royal's IPL team that is led by former-Australian spinner Shane Warne and has international stars like South African skipper Graeme Smith, Australian all-rounder Shane Watson, and Indian cricketers like Mohommad Kaif and Yusaf Pathan .
Speaking at a press conference in Mumbai, Shetty said: “It is an honour to be associated with Rajasthan Royals, I hope for a re-run from them this time too. I will help by providing my expertise in merchandising and music videos — basically to develop the creative part of the franchisee.”
Shetty, who hit the limelight after winning the popular UK show Big Brother, turned entrepreneur a couple of years back when she launched her own company S2 Global Productions. Her company is producing films and has launched Shetty’s own perfume — S2 — and her DVD on yoga and fitness.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Read Business news in |  |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Advertisements |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Content Guide
