Billionaires Mittal, Poonawalla get Indian cricket franchise for USD1.7b after US deal collapses
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The news: Indian steel billionaire Lakshmi Mittal and vaccine tycoon Adar Poonawalla have agreed to acquire Rajasthan Royals, one of ten franchises in India’s premier cricket competition, for USD1.65 billion ($2.3 billion), according to a statement cited by media.
The context: The development comes after a US consortium that included NFL team owners had won the bid just weeks earlier failed to complete the transaction.
Under the deal, the Mittal family will hold approximately 75% equity in the team, with Poonawalla taking around 18% and existing investors, including founding owner Manoj Badale, retaining roughly 7%.
The acquisition also covers Rajasthan Royals’ units Paarl Royals in South Africa’s SA20 competition and Barbados Royals in the Caribbean Premier League, and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026, pending approvals from the IPL Governing Council, the BCCI and Competition Commission of India approval.
The displaced bid of USD1.635 billion had been led by Arizona-based tech entrepreneur Kal Somani, also an existing Rajasthan Royals investor, alongside Denver Broncos owner Rob Walton and Michael Hamp, son of Detroit Lions owner Sheila Ford Hamp. That consortium had outbid rivals including Manchester United co-owner Avram Glazer across multiple rounds of binding bids on 20 March, according to ESPN.
The reason it was unable to proceed remains unclear.
The deal follows the sale of fellow IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bengaluru to a separate consortium for just under USD1.8 billion in March.
