Upstox pips Groww to become IPL's official partner

The Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) has appointed brokerage firm Upstox as the official partner of the Indian Premiere League (IPL). The digital stockbroking firm has an agreement of two years sponsorship deal (with an extension clause for another one year) which will cost Upstox around Rs 90 crore. With this, Upstox has pipped its rival online investment firm Groww in sealing the deal, Livemint reported.

The Ratan tata-backed cost-effective brokerage firm Upstox will share the space as BCCI's official partners with firms like Tata Motors, Unacademy, Dream11, and Cred ahead of the IPL 2021 season.

Launched in 2015, Upstox has emerged as the country's second-largest stockbroker after Zerodha. As per the latest data available in the National Stock Exchange, Upstox has 1.8 million active clients as of February 2021. The company posted annual earnings of Rs 148 crore for FY20. The stock brokerage firm has raised about $29 million to date from investors like Ratan Tata, Tiger Global, Kalaari Capital, and others.

Meanwhile, the IPL has retained phone company Vivo as the tournament's title sponsor at Rs 440 crore. Vivo has bid Rs 440 crore for every IPL season for five years to become the title sponsor. However, in 2020, Vivo was removed from the sponsorship list due to Indo-Sino relations. At that time, Dream11 came on the board as the title sponsor after winning a bid for Rs 222 crore.

Now, this year, Vivo is back as the title sponsor. While Dream11 has gone back to be the official fantasy sports partner of IPL 2021.

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