DALLAS (Diya TV) — The Chalak Mitra Group, a Dallas-based conglomerate which owns and operates concept restaurants across the U.S., including one of the largest KFC franchises in the country, are in contention to purchase the Royal Challengers Bangalore of the Indian Premiere League.
The team was previously owned by the embattled liquor baron Vijay Mallya. He originally purchased the team for $111.6 million, the second-highest price ever paid for an IPL team.
The group recently purchased a cricket franchise, the Jamaica Tallawahs of the Caribbean Premier League, who are the reigning Limacol CPL champions. The team’s roster consists of players such as Chris Gayle and Kumar Sangakkara.
Manish Patel, chairman and president of the group, said, “as a group we are passionate about cricket and after seeing the success of the CPL last year, we knew this was something we wanted to be a part of,” after completing the purchase of the Tallawahs. CMG was founded by Patel and six of his friends from India — in the past, CMG has garnered sponsorship deals with NBA teams such as the Dallas Mavericks and Memphis Grizzlies.
Representatives of the group have been meeting with IPL officials and other franchise owners to gain a better perspective of the purchase and ownership approach. RPG Enterprises Chairman Harsh Goenka has also already confirmed his interest via his Twitter account. Earlier this year, Sajjan Jindal confirmed that his company was also buying an IPL team, but he refrained from revealing the name.
CMG currently owns and operates over 275 restaurants with annual revenues of $350 million — the group’s portfolio also includes investments in various other projects, such as hotels, real estate and manufacturing.
