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Calcutta/Chennai: Debt-ridden Deccan Chargers’ attempt to find a buyer ended in an anti-climax Thursday with the IPL team rejecting the only bid they received, throwing the future of the beleaguered franchise into uncertainty.
Deccan Chronicle Holdings, the owner of Deccan Chargers, reportedly received a bid of Rs 900 crore from PVP Ventures Limited, a Hyderabad-based company engaged in urban infrastructure and financing movies, but surprisingly chose to reject it at the auction as it considered the price and terms unacceptable.
The BCCI has now been forced to take a decision on the fate of Chargers at its working committee meeting in Chennai on September 15.
“The bid that was received by Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited met the BCCI’s eligibility and suitability criteria. The bid was then reviewed by Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited who, in its discretion and with no role being played by BCCI, rejected the bid on the basis of the payment terms offered by the bidder,” BCCI secretary Sanjay Jagdale said in a media release.
Asked if a new tender will be floated since the lone bid has been rejected, BCCI president N. Srinivasan said: “You have to ask Deccan Chargers, now it’s up to them. The franchise is on (exist). The BCCI has issued a notice to the franchise to clear certain defects. We have given them sometime, but that is between BCCI and the franchise.”
Although there was no official word from either the BCCI or the franchise, it is learnt that the bankers played a significant role in rejecting the only bid.
The development, however, has not gone down well with the BCCI which was keen to resolve the issues surrounding the franchise early and there was a strong indication that Deccan Chargers’ contract could be terminated.
The development has put the BCCI in a quandary as it was expecting the franchise to resolve its financial problems by finding a buyer for itself.
A top BCCI official indicated that the Chargers' contract could be terminated at the Working Committee meeting and a new tender could be floated. There was also a possibility that the PVP company could be given the team.
“We will discuss the entire issue now and see what can be done. It is now up to the working committee to take a final decision on the issue,” the official said.
On what will be the next step for the BCCI, he said: “We need to wait till 5pm on September 15 when the time frame of one month given to Deccan Chargers ends.”
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