A consortium led by steel magnate Lakshmi N Mittal’s family and including Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Indian Premier League (IPL) team Rajasthan Royals in a deal valued at about $1.65 billion. Post-completion, the Mittal family will hold around 75% in the franchise, while Poonawalla will own about 18%. The remaining 7% will stay with existing investors, including Manoj Badale, who will continue to be associated with the team.
The deal follows the collapse of an earlier proposed $1.63-billion sale of the franchise to a consortium led by US-based tech entrepreneur Kal Somani, along with Rob Walton and Sheila Ford Hamp. The transaction had failed due to funding constraints, regulatory uncertainties and structural complexities within the buyer group, according to sources.
The sale will mark the exit of RedBird Capital Partners, which had invested $37.5 million for a 15% stake in 2021, as well as Lachlan Murdoch. Rajasthan Royals is owned by Royal Multisport, controlled by EM Sporting Holdings, Mauritius, of Emerging Media Ventures with a 65% stake. Besides the Jaipur-based men’s IPL team, the deal includes its overseas franchises, Paarl Royals in South Africa and Barbados Royals in the Caribbean.
Mittal family to hold majority stake of 75%; RedBird Capital set to exit the franchise.
The deal is subject to closing conditions, including approvals from the Board of Control for Cricket in India, the Competition Commission of India and the IPL Governing Council, and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026. Following the completion, Lakshmi Mittal, Aditya Mittal, Vanisha Mittal-Bhatia, Adar Poonawalla and Manoj Badale will join board of Rajasthan Royals.
Mittal, chairman of ArcelorMittal, said his family’s roots in Rajasthan and his passion for cricket made the investment meaningful. His son and ArcelorMittal CEO Aditya Mittal described the IPL as one of the biggest sporting leagues. Poonawalla said he looks forward to supporting the franchise’s long-term growth. Badale said new investors are ideal custodians for the team’s next phase. The buyer consortium was advised by Latham & Watkins, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas and Trilegal, with Goldman Sachs as financial adviser and Price Waterhouse & Co as tax adviser.
Source: Economic Times