The $3 billion blockbuster deals for IPL franchises Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) have triggered a sharp rally in Chennai Super Kings (CSK), with its unlisted shares as investors bet on a broader re-rating of cricketing assets ahead of the IPL season.
The stock surge has pushed CSK’s market capitalisation past that of India Cements, its former parent, underscoring growing investor appetite for value unlocking in franchise-led sports businesses.
Ripple Effect on CSK
Unlisted share prices of CSK have nearly doubled over the past year to ₹310–320 levels from ₹160–170. The shares touched a 52-week high of around ₹310–312 on March 23–24 on unlisted share trading platforms like UnlistedZone and Wealth Wisdom India after the announcement of the RCB and RR deals and a large fan event hosted by CSK ahead of the season.
Umesh Paliwal, co-founder of UnlistedZone, said buying interest picked up from October 2025 as speculation around a potential RCB stake sale intensified. “Frequent news flow around suitors led investors to accumulate CSK shares in anticipation of a valuation re-rating post the deal,” he said, adding that the stock has risen from ₹190–200 levels to ₹280–300. CSK shares hit a a 52-week low of ₹174 in November 2025, according to UnlistedZone.
A consortium including the Aditya Birla Group, the Times Group, Bolt Ventures and Blackstone acquired RCB for $1.78 billion (₹16,600 crore), while RR was sold to a group led by US-based tech entrepreneur Kal Somani for $1.63 billion (₹15,300 crore).
Vijay Kuppa, CEO of InCred Money, said such large transactions tend to trigger benchmarking across comparable assets. When deals of this scale get disclosed, listed investors instinctively benchmark comparable assets, and CSK, given its track record and brand equity, was an obvious one,” he said. According to the platform, CSK shares have risen from about ₹270 at the start of March to ₹320–330 currently, registering 18-24% growth.
The RCB and RR deal sets a new benchmark for IPL franchise valuation, implying more than a two-times valuation for Gujarat Titans, which were sold four years ago, noted Nuvama Institutional Equities. “This reflects a sharp re-rating of IPL assets, with franchise value surging 25 times since inception in 2008, supported by strong global investor interest from private equity firms and US sports owners,” it said.
CSK’s unlisted market capitalisation is now estimated at ₹11,500–12,000 crore across different unlisted platforms, even higher than India Cements’ ₹11,001 crore as of Friday. To be sure, CSK was demerged from India Cements in 2018 as an independent entity, with shareholders receiving one share of CSK for every share held. The stock initially traded at ₹10–12.
From Vanity to Value
The re-rating theme has also spilled over to listed peers. Shares of Sun TV Network, which owns Sunrisers Hyderabad, rose about 10% following RCB and RR deals to touch ₹649, with investors factoring in potential value unlocking. Sun TV’s market capitalisation stands at ₹22,941 crore, with estimates suggesting its IPL franchise accounts for roughly 65% of the valuation.
RPSG Ventures, which owns Lucknow Super Giants, has surged 54% in just four days. The stock jumped from a 52-week low of ₹551.90 on March 23 to a high of ₹852 on Friday, before closing at ₹825.25 on the NSE.
“When Sanjiv Goenka’s RPSG acquired Lucknow Super Giants, the franchise was valued at around ₹7,000 crore. Today, its standalone valuation is unclear. Investors are buying into RPSG in anticipation of future value unlocking, either through a potential stake sale or a spin-off in the future,” Paliwal said.
Kuppa said the rally across listed names boils down to valuation benchmarking. “When RCB and Rajasthan Royals transacted at ₹16,900 crore and ₹15,300 crore respectively, investors instinctively ran the same math on every other listed entity with IPL exposure,” he added.