Rawalpindi to become sixth PSL franchise as Walee Technologies prevail at auction

LAHORE: The highly anticipated auction of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Multan Sultans was held here at the Expo Centre on Monday.

The star-studded auction got underway with the recitation of the Holy Quran, followed by the national anthem.

PSL CEO Salman Naseer welcomed the five qualified bidders – CD Ventures, Tweaker Energy and Particle Igniter, DSM, Aim Next Inc and Walee Technologies – before Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi officially inaugurated the auction by hammering the gong.

Later, moderator Sidra Iqbal listed down the rules for the auction, while auctioneer Fakhre Alam revealed the base price of the franchise to be Rs1.82 billion.

Auction Rules

• All bids shall be quoted in Pakistani Rupees (PKR).

• The minimum incremental bid from the base price announced by PCB shall be PKR 10,000,000 (rupees ten million only).

• No bid increase of less than the minimum incremental bid shall be accepted.

• Bidders may choose to make a bid in excess of the minimum incremental bid. No limit.

• Each bidder shall have the right to exercise one (1) strategic timeout of up to five (5) minutes, only once during each round of the auction.

• During this strategic timeout, bidders may consult with their representatives before deciding their future course of action in the auction, but shall not be permitted to communicate with other bidders.

• A bidding round shall be declared closed when the highest incremental bid in excess of the base price is not surpassed by any other bidder despite a final call by the auctioneer.

• Upon closure of the bidding round, the highest valid bid in excess of the base price shall be provisionally declared the winning bid.

Soon after the base price was announced, the interested parties engaged in a bidding war until CD Ventures put forward a bid of Rs2.06 billion, which prompted AIM Next to call for the strategic timeout of five minutes.

Following the timeout, AIM Next announced its departure from the bidding race.

Meanwhile, the remaining bidders once again got engaged in another bidding war until CD Venures made a bid of Rs 2.15 billion.

Auctioneer Alam started the final call, following which CD Ventures raised their bid only for it to be bettered by Walee Technologies.

But the CD Ventures reclaimed the lead with a bid Rs 2.21 billion.

Following another final call made by the auctioneer, Tweaker Energy and Particle Igniter and CD Ventures engaged in a bidding war, currently led by the latter with a bid of Rs 2.26 billion.

Tweaker Energy and Particle Igniter then called for a strategic timeout, following which they raised their bid to Rs 2.30 billion, which was bettered by CD Ventures, who offered Rs 2.35 billion after the final call.

The bidding race intensified after another final call as Walee Technologies made their return with a staggering bid of Rs 2.45 billion, resulting in CD Ventures requesting strategic timeout.

After the completion of the five-minute timeout, CD Ventures announced their departure from the bidding race, which led to another final call by the auctioneer, which proved decisive as the bid remained intact.

As a result, Walee Technologies became the new owners of the former champions Multan Sultans for the next 10 years.

The representatives of Walee Technologies then received the celebratory key to the franchise from PCB Chairman Naqvi, following which they revealed changing the city name from Multan to Rawalpindi.

For the unversed, the five bidders were shortlisted by the PCB bid committee following a "thorough and transparent" evaluation process after it received six proposals.

Among the five qualified bidders is former owner of the franchise Ali Tareen, who decided against renewing the decade-long ownership contract following the landmark 10th edition of the marquee league.

Consequently, the PCB temporarily assumed control of the franchise, and its chairman, Mohsin Naqvi, had announced that the cricket board would oversee the matters of the former champions for the historic 11th edition of the marquee league, scheduled to run from March 26 to May 3.

"Multan Sultans will be operated by the PCB this year. Once the PSL concludes, we will carry out the auction process and put the franchise up for sale. However, for this season, the board will run the Sultans," Naqvi had said.

Meanwhile, after the successful auctioning of two new franchises, Hyderabad Houston Kingsmen and Sialkot Stallions, which were acquired by FKS Group and OZ Developers for staggering Rs 1.75 billion and Rs 1.85 billion, respectively, the PCB reverted its decision and announced to auction the Sultans.

Consequently, the PCB formally invited bids for the ownership rights of the franchise by issuing an advertisement to attract interested parties last month.

The deadline for the submission of documents for technical proposals was set for January 30. The cricket board received six proposals, out of which five were shortlisted.