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MUMBAI:
Deccan Chronicle Holdings Ltd. has mandated KPMG Corporate
Finance to find a buyer for Deccan Chargers, the Indian Premier
League (IPL) franchise for Hyderabad team.
The
company is looking at a valuation of $250 million and is prepared
to exit. "We are willing to dilute our stake completely
if we get the right valuation. We hope to seal the deal within
15-20 days," a source in the company said.
Deccan
Chronicle Holdings managing director PK Iyer declined to comment.
The
Hyderabad team franchise went to Deccan Chronicle for $107.01
million over 10 years. For acquiring the team players including
Adam Gilchrist and Andrew Symonds, Deccan spent a further
$5.88 million in the first edition of the IPL.
"Deccan
Chargers, which finished almost at the bottom of the table
in the inaugural edition of the IPL, lost $4-5 million in
the first year," a source in the industry who is tracking
the IPL said.
NRI
industrialist Vikas Rambal, who is sponsoring Champions League
Twenty20 side Waca Warriors, is understood to be one of the
suitors for owning Deccan Chargers. Perth-based Rambal, who
signed a three-year sponsorship deal with WACA Twenty20 team
Waca Warriors, is sending the team to India in December for
the Champions League T20.
"Several
other parties have also shown interest," the source said.
Industry
analysts, however, said the enterprise valuation of $250 million
seems to be on the higher side. "A more realistic figure
would be $200 million," a source who was involved with
one of the team franchises said.
It
is still not clear whether franchisees can dilute majority
stake before three years. IPL chairman and commissioner Lalit
Modi was recently quoted by a newspaper as having said that
franchisees "can bring in a minority owner or owners,
the IPL governing council have no issues with that."
Deccan
Chronicle owns 100 per cent of Deccan Chargers.
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