Rajasthan Royals were purchased for $67 million in 2008. Lakshmi Mittal has now acquired majority control at a valuation of approximately $1.65 billion. That’s a 58-fold increase across seventeen years. The deal isn’t just a transaction. It’s a statement about what the IPL has become and what its franchises are now worth to the world’s most serious sports investors. Adar Poonawalla joins as a minority partner. Manoj Badale retains a small stake. And the franchise enters a new era with deeper capital than any previous ownership structure provided.
From $67M to $1.65B Fast
The valuation jump tells the IPL’s entire commercial story in two numbers. Broadcasting deals have expanded dramatically. Digital audiences have multiplied across markets that didn’t exist as meaningful cricket consumers in 2008. Sponsorship ecosystems now operate at a scale that makes franchise ownership genuinely comparable to top European football clubs rather than regional cricket teams.
Rajasthan Royals’ global footprint amplifies that valuation further. Their ownership stake in Paarl Royals and Barbados Royals positions the franchise as a multi-league sports conglomerate rather than a standalone T20 team. That structure adds commercial layers that a single-franchise valuation doesn’t fully capture. Mittal didn’t pay $1.65 billion for a cricket team. He paid for a global sports business with expanding revenue streams across three continents.
Mittal and Poonawalla Split Control
The ownership structure reflects a deliberate balance. Mittal holds approximately 75%. Poonawalla holds around 18%. Existing investors, including Badale, retain the remainder. That distribution isn’t accidental.
Fresh capital enters at the majority level. Operational knowledge stays embedded through existing stakeholders. The franchise doesn’t face the disruption that a complete ownership reset produces. New vision drives strategy. Institutional memory protects execution. Hybrid ownership models exactly like this one have become the preferred structure across elite sports leagues globally, where transition risk is as expensive as the acquisition itself. Rajasthan Royals don’t lose continuity. They gain resources without sacrificing the systems that built the franchise’s identity across nearly two decades of IPL competition.
Global Bidders Reveal Franchise True Value
Mittal didn’t walk into an empty room. A US-based consortium led by Kal Somani competed seriously for this franchise before the deal collapsed over regulatory and structural complexities. That competition matters. It confirms the $1.65 billion valuation wasn’t a number Mittal created. It was a number the market produced through genuine competitive demand from international investors with the resources to pay it.
IPL franchises have crossed the threshold where they function as premium global sports assets. The regulatory complexity that ended the US consortium’s bid also signals something important: these acquisitions now require the kind of institutional and governmental navigation that Premier League or NBA transactions demand. That complexity is itself evidence of value. Simple assets don’t attract this level of competitive bidding or regulatory scrutiny before ownership transfers.
IPL 2026 Ownership Sets New Standard
IPL 2026 has produced the clearest signal, yet that franchise ownership in this league operates in a different category from domestic cricket administration. Mittal’s acquisition will influence how every subsequent franchise sale is priced, structured, and contested. The benchmark has moved. Future bidders will reference $1.65 billion as the floor for a mid-table IPL franchise with international assets, not the ceiling.
For Rajasthan Royals specifically, deeper capital means investment in talent scouting, analytics infrastructure, and commercial partnerships that smaller ownership groups couldn’t access at the same scale. On the field, the impact arrives gradually. Off it, the franchise immediately becomes a more attractive partner for global sponsors and broadcasters who evaluate ownership stability alongside audience size. Mittal’s name and Poonawalla’s commercial reach change those conversations before a single contract is signed.
Cricket never stops, and neither do we. Follow Six6slive for the latest news, in-depth features, and exciting updates from the world of cricket. Dive into the action now!