Sachin Tendulkar set to become the controlling stakeholder of ISL franchise Kerala Blasters
Cricket and Bollywood are the two magic words that define entertainment in the Indian household. And when they join hands, there is nothing quite like it.
Football has never been a sport that was really accepted by the majority of the cricket and Bollywood loving folk of our country. Of course, there are the Premier League and La Liga fanatics, as well as Pele and Maradona fans, but extracting the same kind of cheer from them after watching an India based football game was a different story altogether. The Indian Super League is one new avenue through which football is steadily reaching the far corners of this nation.
Who better than Sachin Tendulkar can evoke that feeling which can bind the country in one and draw its attention towards the newly conceived football league. The legendary cricketer had bought 40% stakes of the ISL franchise- Kerala Blasters last year, and he is set to buy about 20 percent more from his current co-owner Hyderabad-based PVP Ventures, which will establish him as the controlling stakeholder for the franchise with as much as 60% stake, as reported by The Economic Times.
South-based financial services firm, Muthoot Group will also join the franchise as a new co-owner. Muthoot Fincorp is a provider of mass finance in the form of gold loans. The company has a diverse mix of retail offerings including loan products, money transfer, foreign exchange, insurance services and wealth management services.
Currently, the majority share holders PVP Ventures, plan to clear their debts and invest in other projects. The deal is expected to be worth Rs 75-85 crores, which will make the franchise’s worth close to Rs 200 crores. However, the company will retain a 20 per cent stake in the firm and continue as a minority shareholder. "The deal is almost done. A formal announcement is expected soon," said one of the persons familiar with the franchise.
All the eight franchisees in the ISL has roped in cricketers and Bollywood stars for the three-month tenure of the tournament just to bring that extra zing to the game of football in India.
Sourav Ganguly’s Atletico de Kolkata were the winners of the first edition of ISL, where they overcame Sachin’s Kerala Blasters in a pulsating final.