Emerging Media Ventures, the owner of Indian Premier League (IPL) team Rajasthan Royals (RR), has no intention of selling a portion of its controlling stake in the franchise despite interest from private equity and venture capital firms, founder Manoj Badale told ET.
“We have not given any mandate to dilute stakes in the franchise. We have no plans to dilute Emerging Media’s control of the franchise,” Badale said, adding that the franchise gets lots of inbound interest from funds globally.
Media reports said in May that New York-headquartered Tiger Global is looking to invest around $40 million in Rajasthan Royals at $650 million valuation.
“We are just focused on on-field and strong financial performance; the rest will take care of itself,” Badale said.
Emerging Media, an investment vehicle controlled by Badale, owns a 65% stake in Royal Multisport, which owns and operates RR.
In 2021, Red Bird Capital bought a 15% stake in RR for a reported valuation of $250 million. Lachlan Murdoch, Executive Director and CEO of Fox Corporation, has also retained his shareholding in the franchise.
While Badale is tightlipped about RR’s valuation, industry sources say that most IPL franchises are eyeing valuations in the range of $900 million to $1 billion.
Global investment bank Houlihan Lokey had earlier this year pegged the IPL’s business enterprise value at $15.4 billion.
Badale also said that the franchise will evaluate a public listing of the IPL team after the next cycle of IPL media rights are awarded by the Indian Cricket Board.
The current five-year media rights cycle will end in 2027. Disney Star and Viacom 18 have acquired the TV and digital rights, respectively, for a cumulative sum of $6 billion.
“We are too small for a public listing right now. We might look at a public listing post the next media rights,” he said.
Badale also clarified that RR has no plan to buy a cricket franchise in other leagues. Apart from Rajasthan Royals in India, the company also owns Barbados Royals in the Caribbean Premier League and Paarl Royals in the South African T20 league.
“One of the things that has changed dramatically in the last 3–4 years has been how attractive sports have become as an investment class for funds around the world, and now, we are starting to see that happen in the IPL,” he stated.
Blenheim Chalcot, the UK-based digital venture builder co-founded by Badale and Charles Mindenhall, is also looking to grow its investment in India by venturing into the health tech and fintech space over the next 2 to 3 years.
“Blenheim Chalcot plans to spend tens of millions of dollars in India over the next few years. We have 700 people in the country; we continue to grow that,” he said.
It is also building a campus in Andheri, which will provide software development, data science, and financial support to Blenheim Chalcot’s portfolio companies across Europe and America.
In addition, Blenheim Chalcot is also building a generative technology centre of excellence in Mumbai. “We are very focused on generative technology in India and globally,” Badale said.
