CSK unlisted shares hit record highs after rival teams' billion-dollar sales

"Since Tuesday, a lot of enquiries are coming in for unlisted shares of Chennai Super Kings," said Abhay Doshi, co-founder of unlisted shares platform Unlisted Arena. "As a legacy brand, Chennai Super Kings should be valued closer, or even higher than RCB. Investors are trying to get the most out of the valuation gap that the RCB and RR deals have apparently thrown up."

The spillover has also moved beyond the grey market. Shares of Sun TV Network Ltd, the owner of Sunrisers Hyderabad, and RPSG Ventures Ltd, which controls Lucknow Super Giants, climbed as much as 20%.

The deals indicate that institutional investors and global private equity firms are replacing individual owners, treating IPL franchises as significant assets instead of just vanity projects. According to data from WPP Media’s ‘Sporting Nation’ report, team sponsorship revenue crossed a milestone to reach ₹1,033 crore in 2025. Though concerns persist about unprofitable broadcasting and streaming operations, Mint reported earlier.

RCB was acquired for $1.78 billion (about ₹16,700 crore) by a consortium led by the Aditya Birla Group, alongside Blackstone, Bolt Ventures, and The Times Group on Tuesday. On the same day, Rajasthan Royals was sold for $1.63 billion (about ₹15,300 crore) to a consortium led by US-based entrepreneur Kal Somani, with backing from the Walton and Ford families.

The RCB deal sets a new benchmark for IPL franchise valuation, implying more than 2x valuation for Gujarat Titans at $900 million and above the Rajasthan Royals’ recent $1.6 billion valuation, said Nuvama Research.

"This reflects a sharp re-rating of IPL assets, with franchise value increasing about 25x since inception in 2008, supported by strong global investor interest from private equity and US sports owners," according to the brokerage.

Riding the RCB deal’s success

Current sell orders for CSK are coming in at ₹315 apiece, Doshi said, which indicates a market capitalisation of around ₹11,000 crore. Despite a limited float and a bear phase, Doshi foresees enough demand to push the stock higher in the near term, so that the valuation matches those of the recently announced transactions.

"Demand for CSK shares is at its peak," he stated. “Bid-ask spreads are hovering around 1-2%, implying that many active buyers and sellers are willing to trade at or near the record-high level. The price is likely to go up in the near-term till the valuation gap is covered.”

Last week, CSK shares were trading at around ₹250-260 a share, with negligible volumes, said two grey market brokers, who asked to remain unnamed. This implies a 21-26% surge within four days.

CSK is the only IPL team available in the unlisted market due to its 2015 spin-off from India Cements Ltd. The parent distributed franchise shares to its shareholders on a 1:1 basis, organically creating a highly active grey market for the stock.

In contrast, other IPL teams are tightly held as private subsidiaries of large conglomerates (such as Reliance's Mumbai Indians), consortia, or celebrities.

Thanks to the two deals, the valuation of all IPL teams is expected to increase. RCB and RR receiving high premiums despite historically not being the league's top-valued teams indicates a structural shift in how these sporting assets are viewed by institutional capital, explained brand strategy expert Harish Bijoor.

"We live in unpredictable times, and the only predictable thing seems to be cricket and the IPL," he noted. “The valuation of all IPL teams is set to undergo a humongous change. There is clearly a huge appetite for ownership of a slice of the IPL.”

Adding to brand value

The total business value of the IPL, which features 10 teams, jumped 13% year-on-year to a record $18.5 billion ( ₹1.56 trillion) in 2025, according to a report by investment bank Houlihan Lokey. The standalone brand value of the IPL is now $3.9 billion.

Brand value is the economic value of a brand as an intangible asset and reflects its revenue-generating potential. It is different from the overall valuation, which is calculated using technical models.

The top IPL teams in terms of brand value were Mumbai Indians ($108 million), Royal Challengers Bengaluru ($105 million), Chennai Super Kings ($93 million), Kolkata Knight Riders ($73 million) and Gujarat Titans ($70 million), according to Brand Finance.

"It will be interesting to see what happens with CSK and MI. Moving forward, grey market deals and private transactions are going to set the precedent," Bijoor said. Owners will now wait for the perfect time to sell, as mature brands thrive when multiple investors are willing to pay huge premiums to get in, he said.