The US-based Kal Somani-led consortium is expected to purchase the IPL team Rajasthan Royals for an incredible USD 1.63 billion (about Rs 15,290 crore).
Rob Walton from the Walmart family and the Hamp family (Ford) are members of the Somani-led group. Somani is a tech entrepreneur from Arizona who founded Academian, Truyo.Ai, and IntraEdge.
The Mittal family, represented by ArcelorMittal CEO Aditya Mittal, the Aditya Birla Group, and the Times Internet-led consortium were the other finalists.
The sale of the Rajasthan Royals will take effect following the 2026 tournament, pending BCCI clearance. Manoj Badale, a British-Indian, owned 65% of the Royals.
“Kal is an existing investor in the franchise. The deal is subject to approval from the BCCI and will be signed soon. The price of USD 1.63 billion reflects how far the IPL has come as a brand,” PTI quoted a well-placed source as saying.
“If you look at the sale of the latest IPL entrants Lucknow Super Giants, it is way more than that. It just shows remarkable growth of the league,” quoted a different source that made a comparison to the 2021 sale of LSG to RPSG Group for well over Rs 7000 crore.
“I expect the deal to be announced in the next four to five days,” he added.
The defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), another major IPL franchise, are also up for sale, and the deal is expected to be worth more than USD 2 billion.
