File photo of Rajasthan Royals© AFP
A consortium headed by US-based entrepreneur Kal Somani acquired IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals for a record-breaking amount of 1.63 billions dollars (more than Rs 15,000 crore). According to reports, Somani was backed by American businessman Rob Walton, of the Walmart family, and the Hamp family. The sale made Rajasthan Royals the costliest franchise in the history of IPL and the sale will come into effect after IPL 2026. Somani was already an investor in RR since 2021. “We see huge potential with this investment, and we are excited for the future of the IPL,” he had said at the time.
The franchise was previously owned by Emerging Media Ventures, which is headed by businessman Manoj Badale. Other stakeholders included RedBird Capital Partners and Lachlan Murdoch, among others.
The sale process was initiated late last year with investment bank The Raine Group acting as advisor.
There were a number of bidders including Aditya Birla Group and US-based sports investor David Blitzer but the consortium headed by Somani emerged as the eventual winner in the ownership race.
Who is Kal Somani?
Kal Somani is a US-based entrepreneur with over 15 years of experience across sectors like ed-tech, artificial intelligence, sports technology and data privacy. He is based out of Scottsdale, Arizona and is the founder of multiple ventures like tech services firm IntraEdge, Truyo and has deep associations with AI governance initiatives.
He has also made some investments in the sports space as he is the co-owner of the Motor City Golf Club and an early investor in ventures like TGL Golf League and TMRW Sports.
RCB sale next?
While the record deal made Rajasthan Royals the costliest franchise in the history of IPL, the sale of Royal Challengers Bengaluru can change that. The RCB sale process is also currently underway and the franchise is reportedly valued around 2 billion dollars.