Preity Zinta, who is the co-owner of the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise, Punjab Kings (PBKS) has filed an appeal against fellow co-owner Mohit Burman.
The issue arose when Burman, who holds a majority stake in the franchise, was reported to have considered selling a portion of his stake to an undisclosed party, which was reportedly against the internal agreements among the owners of the Punjab franchise.
The turmoil comes at a time when the franchise was supposed to be preparing for the mega auction that is likely to be held at the end of this year, ahead of the next IPL 2025 season.
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IPL 2025: What is the legal issue between PBKS co-owners Preity Zinta and Mohit Burman?
According to Cricbuzz's sources, the Punjab Kings have four owners, with Mohit Burman holding a majority stake of 48% in the franchise, followed by actress Preity Zinta and Ness Wadia, who hold 23% shares each, with the fourth owner being Karan Paul, who holds the remaining 6% of the shares.
Zinta, who owns her shares in the franchise through the KPH Dream Cricket Private Limited, filed an appeal in the Chandigarh Hight Court, in order to prevent Burman from selling a portion of his shares (reportedly around 12%) to another party.
Burman's supposed decision to sell a portion of his shares is considered to be a violation of the internal agreement between the owners, such that, if any of the owners wants to sell a stake of their shares, they must first offer it to the existing co-owners, and may only sell it to an outside party, only if all the existing co-owners decline to purchase themselves.
However, when asked by Cricbuzz, Burman denied that he had plans to sell a portion of his stake in the franchise, saying: "I don't have any plans to sell my shares."
Although if Zinta's allegations are true and if the sale goes through, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will become involved as the transaction requires the regulator's approval. Additionally, the BCCI is entitled to receive five percent of the value from the transaction.
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What is the value of IPL franchises in 2024?
With the massive success of the IPL brand since its inception in 2008, its brand and financial value has only gone up exponentially.
After the inclusion of the two new franchises, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Gujarat Titans (GT) in 2022, the valuation of all the teams have now soared.
According to the Cricbuzz report, on an average, an IPL franchise could be valued at 5500 crores in Indian Rupees or approximately 675 million US Dollars.
Therefore, if Burman sells his stake of 11.5% in the PBKS franchise, it could reportedly be priced at a range between 550 crores to 700 crores (Indian Rupees).
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