CSK’s scintillating show could make it India’s first sports unicorn

Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) superlative performance in the just-concluded Indian Premiere League (IPL) has set the high-profile franchise on course to becoming India’s first sports unicorn, says a Business Standard report.

With four IPL titles in its kitty, CSK could very well surpass market capitalisation (m-cap) of its parent company — India Cements.

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CSK is the only sports team in India to have its shares exchanging hands in the grey market. The win at IPL-14 in Dubai on Friday has resulted in meteoric rise in its valuation. On Monday (October 18), CSK’s shares were trading at ₹135 each. The franchise’s m-cap stands at ₹4,200 crore at present, almost double when compared to an m-cap of ₹2,465 crore six months back. In comparison, the shares of India Cement, CSK’s parent company, were trading at ₹214.40 per share with an m-cap of around ₹6,644.20 crore, the Business Standard reported.

The media house quoted an expert to suggest that if two new franchises joining the IPL in 2022 are valued around ₹5,000 crore, then CSK’s shares could very well jump to ₹200 in the grey market.

MD of India Cements N Srinivasan told Business Standard that CSK’s m-cap would soon go past that of India Cements given the success of the team and encouragement to other sports leagues in the country.

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In fact, brand CSK is actually helping the image of India Cements, said another expert. In a recent interview, given on the occasion of India Cements completing 75 years of its existence, Srinivasan had said: “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 the precedence as we go along.”

Srinivasan gives the credit of the team’s success to captain MS Dhoni, who is also India Cements’ Vice-President.