Sachin Tendulkar bids for majority stake in Kerala team

Trivandrum - PVP Ventures will retain a 20 per cent stake in the Blasters and remain as a minority shareholder.

Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar has bid to acquire majority stake in Kerala Blasters, a key franchise of Indian Super League (ISL).
The former cricketer, who currently owns 40 per cent shares in the venture, is set to buy 20 per cent more from the current co-owner Hyderabad-based PVP Ventures, according to reports from Mumbai. With this Sachin will emerge as the controlling stakeholder in the team. The team title sponsors, Muthoot Pappachan Group, will also acquire 20 per cent shares from PVP Ventures, which is said to be divesting its shares due to financial crisis.
PVP Ventures will retain a 20 per cent stake in the Blasters and remain as a minority shareholder. Though financial terms of the transaction have not been revealed so far, reports said that the deal value is between Rs.750 million to Rs.850 million. The total value of the franchise is about Rs.2 billion.
Apart from Kerala Blasters, there are seven other ISL franchises. Most of them are owned by cricketers, film stars and corporate honchos. While former skipper Sourav Ganguly has a stake in the Kolkata franchise, current Test and ODI skippers Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni co-own the Goa and Chennai teams respectively.
The Blasters, who were placed second in the inaugural edition of the ISL last year, had a dream start this season with a resounding victory over Atletico de Kolkata, at Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium on Tuesday. Sachin's Kerala connection started after he earned a five-wicket haul at the stadium seven years ago. His 5-32 against Australia in 1998 is considered as the best among the two five-wicket hauls he earned in his illustrious career.