Rajasthan Royals ownership twist: INR 15,660 crore Mittal family & Adar Poonawalla deal replaces Somani bid

The Rajasthan Royals were originally bought for $67 million (INR 636 crore) in 2008.

We thought the saga of the Rajasthan Royals (RR) was over. However, the ownership change has finally taken place. Weeks after a Kal Somani-led consortium appeared set to buy the franchise, that deal has collapsed. In its place, a new heavyweight group led by steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal and Serum Institute CEO Adar Poonawalla has stepped in.

The IPL franchise, along with its sister teams in South Africa (Paarl Royals) and the Caribbean (Barbados Royals, both men’s and women’s teams), has been valued at ₹15,660 crore or $1.65 billion in the fresh agreement. As per TOI, the deal is understood to be in advanced stages, with a formal announcement expected soon, subject to regulatory approvals.

RR ownership change: Mittal-Poonawalla consortium in control

The new ownership group means that RR’s original value is now close to what Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) had. The IPL 2025 champions also underwent an ownership change when a consortium of Kumar Mangalam’s Aditya Birla Group, Blackstone, and David Blitzer’s Bolt Ventures bought RCB for USD 1.8 billion, or close to INR 17,000 crore. One must say that Manoj Badale, the current owner has got a superb deal since RCB’s brand value is way ahead and over RR’s.

The Mittal family is set to take a controlling 75 percent stake in Rajasthan Royals, while Adar Poonawalla will hold around 18 percent. The remaining 7 percent will stay with existing investors, including current majority stakeholder Manoj Badale. As per TOI journalist Shriniwas Rao, Badale was interested in selling RR once he knew that the IPL broadcasting rights would go down. For that to happen, we have to wait but as of now, the ownership has taken place.

RR ownership split after deal completion:

As mentioned above, this isn’t just an IPL acquisition. The deal also includes Paarl Royals (SA20) and Barbados Royals (CPL), effectively handing the new owners a three-league cricket portfolio. That multi-team structure is becoming valuable in global T20 cricket, and Rajasthan Royals are already well placed in that space. Lakshmi Mittal, Aditya Mittal, Vanisha Mittal-Bhatia, Adar Poonawalla and Manoj Badale are all expected to be part of the board once the deal is cleared.

What happened to the Somani deal?

The obvious question is what changed. Not long ago, the Kal Somani-led consortium, which included Walmart heir Rob Walton and members of the Ford family, was widely reported to be leading the race. That deal, however, ran into trouble.

As per TOI report, the group struggled with funding clarity, regulatory hurdles and the overall structure of the bid. Despite being valued at around ₹15,300 crore, the deal couldn’t move past those complications. Once that fell through, the door opened again. The Mittal-Poonawalla group moved quickly. Poonawalla himself was interested in buying an IPL franchise. He once tweeted that he would make a bid for RCB but it didn’t go through.

Ownership handover after IPL 2026

According to NDTV Profit, the deal will be finalised once the IPL 2026 has ended. In normal circumstances, ownership transfer dialogue takes about 30 to 45 days. However, one must remember that the ownership change won’t be completed until the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) approves the sale.

That can’t happen before October 2026, when the board holds its AGM (annual general meeting). Last year, the BCCI’s AGM took place on September 28 in Mumbai.