MS Dhoni has quietly accumulated more than one lakh shares in the Chennai Super Kings franchise, with those shares changing hands through private off-market transactions rather than any publicly announced deal. The development has emerged even as CSK formally denied that any ownership discussions with the former captain had ever taken place.
According to reports, Dhoni's holding of one lakh-plus shares is a small slice of the franchise's broader equity structure. The public collectively owns upward of 30 crore shares, which amounts to nearly 40 per cent of CSK's total share capital. The Srinivasan family commands a majority position, holding in excess of 55 per cent of the franchise. Cricbuzz indicated that Dhoni had opened discussions by seeking a 25 per cent stake in the franchise.
CSK's management came back with successive counter-proposals of 3 per cent, 4 per cent and then 5.5 per cent. Dhoni is said to have scaled back his position, first to 20 per cent and then to 18 per cent, but the two sides could not bridge the gap.
"MS has never asked us about it. We never discussed the matter. We also don’t have any information about him having discussed this with Mr N Srinivasan either," Viswanathan was quoted as saying.On a separate front, CSK management is expected to convene around September 22, the date Dhoni is due back from the United States, to finalise the appointment of a new head coach.
