Multan Sultans Renamed Rawalpindi Franchise After Walee Technologies Takeover

LAHORE: The much-awaited auction for the Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Multan Sultans took place on Monday at the Expo Centre, drawing significant attention from the cricketing and business communities.

The high-profile event began with the recitation of the Holy Quran, followed by the playing of the national anthem. PSL Chief Executive Officer Salman Naseer welcomed the five shortlisted bidders — CD Ventures, Tweaker Energy and Particle Igniter, DSM, Aim Next Inc, and Walee Technologies — before Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi formally launched the auction by striking the ceremonial gong.

Renowned host Sidra Iqbal outlined the auction guidelines, after which auctioneer Fakhre Alam announced the reserve price of the franchise at Rs1.82 billion.

Auction Guidelines

All bids were to be placed in Pakistani Rupees (PKR).

The minimum bid increase above the reserve price was set at Rs10 million.

Any bid below the prescribed increment was deemed invalid.

Participants were free to raise bids beyond the minimum increment without restriction.

Each bidder was allowed one strategic timeout of up to five minutes per round.

During this pause, bidders could consult internally but were prohibited from interacting with rival bidders.

A round concluded when no higher offer followed the auctioneer’s final call.

The highest acceptable bid at the close of a round was declared the provisional winner.

Moments after the base price was revealed, bidding escalated rapidly. CD Ventures initially surged ahead with an offer of Rs2.06 billion, prompting Aim Next Inc to exercise their strategic timeout. After deliberation, Aim Next withdrew from the contest.

The competition resumed among the remaining bidders, with CD Ventures increasing their offer to Rs2.15 billion. Although they briefly regained the lead after being challenged by Walee Technologies, CD Ventures pushed the bid to Rs2.21 billion.

The auction heated up further as Tweaker Energy and Particle Igniter entered a head-to-head battle with CD Ventures, who raised the figure to Rs2.26 billion. Tweaker Energy and Particle Igniter then took their strategic timeout and returned with a revised bid of Rs2.30 billion, which CD Ventures quickly topped at Rs2.35 billion following the final call.

In a dramatic twist, Walee Technologies re-entered the fray with a bold offer of Rs2.45 billion, leading CD Ventures to request their own timeout. Upon its conclusion, CD Ventures opted to exit the auction.

With no further challenges to the highest bid, the auctioneer’s final call sealed the deal. Walee Technologies were officially declared the successful bidders and will now own Multan Sultans for the next 10 years.