IPL Franchise Kochi Tuskers Kerala May Be Sold

Indian Premier League’s Twenty20 cricket franchise Kochi Tuskers Kerala team have a prospective investor after noted film director Priyadarshan has shown interest in acquiring stake in the franchise.

He said: “I am interested in this team and to that extend, we are having a business meeting to take forward our interest in acquiring stake in Kochi Tuskers. The first meeting is to take place in Mumbai on the 22nd of this month.”

The development confirms earlier reports that the Kochi owners are indeed looking to sell stake in the franchise.

Priyadarshan said his friends were interested in the IPL but a final decision will depend on the cost involved.

“It is basically my friends who are not in the film industry. Yes, we are serious in this, but then it depends on things like what is going to be the money involved and also the returns associated with it.”

The Kochi franchise was bought for US$333.33 million but the IPL’s valuation itself has since taken a hit, meaning in all probability the owners of KTK will find it difficult to come anywhere close to, let alone match, the 2010 level valuation.

The most recent IPL season was a dampener on all fronts and more so for the KTK owners since they could not do much in terms of generating revenue from team sponsorship and gate receipts.