Mittal family to acquire Rajasthan Royals for $1.65 billion with Adar Poonawalla
Following completion of the transaction, the Mittal family will own around 75% of the franchise, while Poonawalla will hold about 18%.
After falling short in previous attempts to acquire the Royal Challengers Bengaluru and losing the initial bidding war for the Rajasthan Royals, the Mittal family has finally secured a majority stake in the latter, proving that the third time is the charm.
The family of steel magnate Lakshmi N. Mittal has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Rajasthan Royals in partnership with vaccine king Adar Poonawalla, in a transaction valued at approximately $1.65 billion. Rajasthan Royals owners Manoj Badale and other investors are selling most of their shares, in India's second major cricket franchise sale in less than two months.
“Aditya Mittal will take the lead position on behalf of the family. The deal was signed last night,” a person with direct knowledge of the development said. Aditya, son of group patriarch Lakshmi Mittal, is chief executive of ArcelorMittal, the world's second largest steelmaker, and chairman of ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India.
Mittal and Poonawalla had jointly pursued Royal Challengers Bengaluru earlier, which was ultimately snapped up by the Aditya Birla Group, along with sports investor David Blitzer and the Times family office for a record-breaking $1.78 billion. Mittal was also beaten in the first round of bidding for Rajasthan Royals by the Kal Somani group, before that deal unravelled. The battle for cricket franchises highlights the steep value of premium sports assets linked to the world’s richest cricket tournament.
Once the transaction is completed, the Mittal family will own around 75% of the franchise, while Poonawalla will hold about 18%. Badale and others will continue to hold the remaining 7%. Lakshmi Mittal, Aditya Mittal, Vanisha Mittal-Bhatia, Poonawalla and Badale will join the board of Rajasthan Royals.
Rajasthan Royals also owns Paarl Royals in South Africa and Barbados Royals in the Caribbean. The $1.65 billion valuation includes all three franchises.
Two back-to-back IPL franchise deals at premium valuations point to a maturing sports investment market in India, said Ketan Mukhija, partner and co-head of private equity and venture capital, Kochhar & Co. “These are no longer trophy assets, but scaled, revenue-backed platforms anchored by central media rights, sponsorships and strong fan engagement. The proposed investment in Rajasthan Royals, alongside recent transactions, indicates that large pools of capital are increasingly comfortable underwriting long-term value in these assets.”
More importantly, the deal reflects growing institutionalization, Mukhija said. “Ownership is consolidating with well-capitalized investors, and sports franchises are increasingly being viewed as credible alternative assets rather than opportunistic bets.”
Rajasthan Royals was seen as an underdog franchise in its initial days, but defied all odds to win the inaugural IPL title in 2008 under Shane Warne's legendary leadership. Despite facing a two-year suspension in 2016 and 2017, the team successfully rebuilt its identity. In the ongoing IPL T20 series, the franchise is in a strong position, sitting at fourth place with 12 points from 10 matches. The team has secured six wins and suffered four losses so far this season.
According to PwC's December report on Indian Entertainment & Media, the IPL has become a media-led business with locked-in revenues. The consulting firm said the IPL's brand value crossed $10.7 billion in 2024, anchored by the ongoing 2023-27 broadcast and digital deal worth over ₹48,000 crore ($5 billion). PwC also projected India's sports market to reach about ₹65,000 crore ($7 billion) by 2029, growing at roughly 8-11% annually.
The completion of the transaction is subject to customary approvals from the Board of Control for Cricket in India, the Competition Commission of India, the IPL Governing Council, and other regulators, and is expected in the July-September quarter of 2026, the statement said.
The buyer consortium was advised by Latham & Watkins LLP, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas and Trilegal as legal counsel, Goldman Sachs as financial adviser and Price Waterhouse & Co LLP as tax adviser. Raine ran the sale process and acted as commercial adviser to the seller consortium, alongside Deloitte as financial adviser, EY as tax adviser, and Macfarlanes LLP and AZB Partners as legal counsel, the statement said.
Aditya Mittal said, “The IPL has, in a very short space of time, become one of the biggest sporting leagues in the world, and the Rajasthan Royals is one of the original and the most iconic teams of the league. Personally, I am so honoured and excited to be part of this great team.”
“I am delighted to partner with Aditya Mittal on this investment. Rajasthan Royals is a premier IPL franchise with a strong legacy, and I look forward to supporting its continued growth and long-term success,” said Poonawalla, CEO of the Serum Institute of India.
About the Author
Mansi Verma is a senior correspondent covering private capital in India for Mint. Think of strategy shifts, private equity and venture capital deals, the companies trying to go public, and occasionally, the ones falling apart.<br><br>She moved into this beat in 2022, and has been following it closely since. Prior to Mint, Mansi worked at Moneycontrol, where she covered jobs and edtech, reporting extensively on the 2022–2024 startup and IT layoffs cycle. Her work during this period focused on what happens to fast-growing companies when capital dries up, combining financial reporting with human-interest stories.<br><br>Mansi reported closely on Byju’s during a critical phase in its unravelling, and has since built a strong understanding of edtech businesses, particularly unicorns, and the deeper structural challenges in education that many of them have struggled to solve. At Mint, she follows the flow of capital across VC and PE deals, exits and IPO pipelines, while also tracking large investment firms, and the financial services sector.<br><br>Outside of the newsroom, Mansi spends time exploring how technology is changing the way people think and work, while actively attempting to build a critical thinking human brain in the age of short-form everything.<br><br>She holds a Master’s degree in journalism and has moderated industry discussions on financial services and investments.
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