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Deal done: RR will reportedly be sold to Mittal family and Adar Poonawalla originally appeared on Cricket News. Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- A rival consortium submitted a new binding offer to acquire Rajasthan Royals.
- The original Somani-led group was still in the race but was later seeking a smaller stake.
- The Royals were bought for $67 million in 2008 and are now valued at $1.63 billion.
- Mittal Family, alongside Adar Poonawalla all set to take over RR as new owners.
Rajasthan Royals' talk with Kal Somani fell through
The $1.63 billion agreement to hand over the Rajasthan Royals to a US-based consortium led by tech entrepreneur Kal Somani has reportedly hit a fresh roadblock.
According to State of Play Club, a rival group had tabled a fresh binding offer, throwing the ownership race back open.
However, Somani & Co. were reportedly still in the picture, though it is now looking at taking a smaller piece of the pie rather than the full ownership it originally sought.
MORE: Who will buy Rajasthan Royals? Full list of potential buyers interested
Going for a higher price? The battle for Rajasthan Royals ends
When the BCCI first put IPL franchises up for auction in 2008, a group led by UK-based entrepreneur Manoj Badale picked up the Jaipur franchise for just $67 million, roughly INR 268 crore at the exchange rate of the time.
That price made Rajasthan Royals the cheapest team in the league. Nearly 18 years later, the franchise has seen a 24-fold jump in valuation in dollar terms, and in rupee terms, the rise is an even more staggering 57 times.
On 25 March 2026, a buyout deal was announced in which 100% of the franchise would be sold to Somani, who had partnered with Walmart heir Rob Walton and Detroit Lions owners Sheila Ford Hamp and her son Michael, to submit a $1.63 billion offer.
However, on May 3, it was reported by several media houses that the Mittal family will buy a majority stake in the team and will be supported by another Indian billionaire, Adar Poonawala.
According to MoneyControl, the Mittal family will own approximately own 75% of Rajasthan Royals, with Adar Poonawalla holding approximately 18%. The remaining 7% will be held by approved existing investors, including Manoj Badale.
MORE: Rajasthan Royals’ massive ROI after IPL franchise sale: Detailing RR's 2008 buy price vs 2026 valuation
The Cricket News Opinion: IPL valuation set for another massive boost
The fact that a billion-dollar deal, once declared settled, can be unsettled by a fresh competing offer says everything about where the IPL stands as a global investment destination.
RedBird Capital, which held a 15% stake, is set to make nearly eight times its money on exit, while Lachlan Murdoch is looking at a return of over 90 times his original investment. Those numbers explain why the queue of buyers does not seem to thin out.
For Royals fans in Jaipur, the hope is simple: that whoever ends up in charge brings the same hunger for silverware that Shane Warne's underdog side showed back in 2008, when they won it against all odds, when nobody believed.
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