The mega business deal between India Cements and Ultratech Cements has raised concerns regarding the ownership of Chennai Super Kings(CSK) in IPL. Right after the deal many CSK fans started to hunt the answer for “Who is the owner of CSK”?
On Sunday, July 28, UltraTech Cement Ltd announced the acquisition of a 32.72% equity stake of the promoters and their associates in India Cements Ltd. This was in addition to the 22.77% equity of India Cements that Ultratech had acquired in June 2024.
Though the deal received various comments, questions regarding CSK’s ownership became the most discussed topic. Many started speculating that UltraTech Cement may now become the team’s new owner.
By the end of the day, it becomes clear that this corporate business deal will have no impact on cricket. The report further states that Chennai Super Kings will remain under the ownership of N Srinivasan and his family.
“Chennai Super Kings and India Cements are different entities. India Cements no longer controls the CSK team. The team is run by a company called Chennai Super Kings Cricket Limited (CSKCL),” Kasi Viswanathan, CEO of CSKCL, was quoted as saying by a cricket website.
Viswanathan, a long-time associate of Srinivasan, was in the US for the Major League Cricket (MLC), in which CSK has a supplementary franchise named Texas Super Kings.
He also confirmed that the N Srinivasan family – comprising Srinivasan himself, his wife Chitra Srinivasan, and daughter Rupa Gurunath – holds a controlling stake in the franchise.
According to the official reports, Chennai Super Kings was separated from India Cements around 2015.
The India Cements Shareholders Trust, which was originally CSK’s holding company, had distributed almost its entire holding of CSK shares to eligible promoter and non-promoter shareholders of India Cements.
According to the CSK Annual Report 2022-23, the Trust’s stake in CSK fell to just 1.76% in FY23 from 30% in FY22. India Cements promoter N Srinivasan and his family now hold a majority 28.14% stake in the CSK franchise, the reports said.
Though the exact reason behind Srinivasan’s decision to sell his family’s shares in the company is unclear he will continue to control 18 clubs in the Chennai league associated with the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA), which India Cements used to sponsor.
