According to media reports, a consortium led by steel billionaire Lakshmi Mittal and vaccine entrepreneur Adar Poonawalla has agreed to acquire IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals in a transaction valuing the team at Rs 15,600 crore.
Under the proposed structure, Mittal and his family will hold around 75% stake, while Poonawalla is expected to own about 18%. Existing investors, including Manoj Badale, will retain roughly 7%.
The deal spans beyond the IPL team, covering sister franchises such as Paarl Royals in South Africa's SA20 league and Barbados Royals in the Caribbean Premier League, underscoring the growing global footprint of IPL-linked brands.
The transaction remains subject to regulatory clearances, including approvals from the Board of Control for Cricket in India, competition authorities and the IPL Governing Council, with closure expected in Q3 2026. Post completion, Mittal, his son Aditya Mittal, daughter Vanisha Mittal-Bhatia, Poonawalla and Badale are set to join the Rajasthan Royals board, while Badale will continue in an ongoing role.
The deal has reinforced investor optimism around IPL franchise valuations, which have been buoyed by a sharp rise in media rights. The league's broadcast rights more than doubled to over $6 billion in the 2022 auction, alongside steady growth in franchise revenues supported by the BCCI's pooled revenue-sharing model.
The development also comes amid reports that the RPSG Group, led by Sanjiv Goenka, is exploring a partial stake sale in its IPL franchise Lucknow Super Giants. The group is reportedly considering offloading up to 15% stake to capitalise on elevated valuations.
RPSG Ventures holds a 51% stake in RPSG Sports, which owns and operates Lucknow Super Giants, the Lucknow-based franchise in the Indian Premier League.
RPSG had acquired the Lucknow franchise for Rs 7,090 crore in November 2021 through RPSG Sports. Financially, the franchise reported revenue of Rs 495.9 crore and profit of Rs 63.7 crore in H1 FY26 (April-September 2025), highlighting the league's strong monetisation potential.
The flurry of deal activity signals that IPL teams are increasingly being viewed not just as sporting assets, but as scalable media and entertainment businesses attracting global capital.
RPSG Ventures operates a diversified portfolio of businesses including information technology (IT) services, business process management (BPM), fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) including, ayurvedic formulations, real estate and sports.
As a standalone entity, RPSG Ventures's core business consists of information technology (IT) services, being provided to certain Group companies operating in the power sector. All other businesses are carried out through various subsidiary companies.
On a consolidated basis, RPSG Ventures reported net loss of Rs 111.55 crore in Q3 December 2025 as against net loss of Rs 59.98 crore in Q3 December 2024. Net sales rose 15.57% YoY to Rs 2756.40 crore in Q3 December 2025.
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