Leading Indian companies are considering whether to bid for the India cricket team sponsorship for the next three years. The deadline for doing so is Saturday.
The bids would be opened and awarded on Monday, at the meeting of the marketing committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
Companies seriously considering bidding include consumer electronics giant Videocon, steel company Monnet Ispat, the Reliance ADA Group, sports marketing firm Percept, and Nimbus Sports, which owns the broadcasting rights for international cricket matches played in India.
It is believed that some of the companies may bid as a consortium.
A spokesperson for Sahara India, which owns the rights currently, said the company would decide tomorrow whether to bid or not.
The rights allow the company to ensure use of its logo by the Indian cricket team's players. The bids are for four teams: The men's and women's teams and their A-teams (the juniors).
With a base price of Rs 2.5 crore per match for the Indian cricket team, totalling Rs 375 crore for a three-and-a-half year period, the condition from BCCI is lower than the Rs 3 crore per match it demanded when the rights came for rebidding last December.
However, due to the lack of takers, BCCI was forced to extend the terms of the sponsorship with Sahara, which was to end on December 31 last year, by another six months. However, some potential bidders say even this price is too high and should be decreased for making the bidding competitive.
Each bidder will need to have a turnover of Rs 1,000 crore and pay a security deposit of Rs 50 crore with the bid it makes. BCCI had, in response to clarifications sought by some companies, said marketing agencies (such as sports marketing groups) could not bid for the sponsorship. And, marketing companies or agents will not be allowed to be part of a consortium to bid.
A senior Nimbus executive told Business Standard it had bought the bid document but had not decided. Being a sports marketing company, it would sell the rights to its clients if it participated and won. "We are evaluating the option and talking to some clients," he said.
A Videocon executive said the Group would bid for the sponsorship. "We have bought the document and are studying it; we will participate in the bidding," he said.
Shailendra Singh, managing director of Percept, said: "We have picked up the bidding documents for one client. Under the agreement, we cannot disclose the name of our client."
Sandeep Jagodia, vice-chairman and managing director, Monnet Ispat, said: "We have picked up bidding documents. Our office is studying the documents; we have not taken a call yet on which teams to sponsor."
