Dilmah set to re-sign with Sri Lanka

Dilmah Tea, Sri Lanka's leading high-value tea exporters, are poised to sign a renewal of their team sponsorship deal with Sri Lanka Cricket after winning a formal bid process. Interim cricket officials are expected to meet this week to finalise a contract that will last for four years.

Several other companies, including Hero Honda, LG and Kia, had formally expressed a desire to bid for the team sponsorship rights, the most major sponsorship available with Sri Lanka's team, but in the end Dilmah were the only company to table a bid by the official deadline last Friday.

Dilmah's bid was less than their record-breaking $3.1 million offer back in 2001 when they first won the team sponsorship rights, but that contract included branding rights for the ICC World Cup in South Africa and two ICC Champions Trophy tournaments. The new deal does not include major ICC events.

Dilmah are a family-run company that has now established itself as the innovative market leader for one of Sri Lanka's most important export earners. While most Sri Lanka tea companies ship loose tea leaf in bulk to wholesalers overseas, Dilmah's success revolved around packaging and branding its own tea before selling overseas.