Mittal Family Strikes $1.65 Billion Deal to Acquire Rajasthan Royals

In one of the largest deals in IPL franchise history, business giant the Mittal family announced on Sunday that they had signed a definitive agreement to acquire the IPL team Rajasthan Royals, partnering with Adar Poonawalla. The transaction is valued at $1.65 billion, reports said.

The acquisition is from the current ownership group led by British-Indian businessman Manoj Badale and consortium, the Mittal family said in a statement.

“Aditya Mittal will take the lead position on behalf of the family. The deal was signed last night,” Mint reported, citing a person with knowledge of the matter.

The Board of Rajasthan Royals will now include Lakshmi Mittal, Aditya Mittal, Vanisha Mittal Bhatia, Adar Poonawalla, and Manoj Badale.

Following the acquisition, the Mittal family will have a stake of 75% in the team, while Poonawalla will hold nearly 18%. The remaining ownership will continue to be held by existing investors, the statement said.

Poonawalla’s deal with the Mittal family comes months after his bidding process for Royal Challengers Bengaluru, which was sold to a consortium led by the Aditya Birla Group in a deal valued at ₹1.78 billion, the report said.

The completion of the acquisition now awaits customary approvals from the Board of Control for Cricket in India, the Competition Commission of India, the IPL Governing Council, and other regulators. The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of the September quarter this year.

“The IPL has, in a very short space of time, become one of the biggest sporting leagues in the world, and Rajasthan Royals is one of the original and most iconic teams in the league. Personally, I am so honoured and excited to be part of this great team,” Aditya Mittal, CEO of ArcelorMittal, said.

Adar Poonawalla also expressed his gratitude to be part of this deal and said that he looks forward to supporting the team in its continued growth and long-term success.

India’s Rising Sports Market

India’s obsession with cricket has made it one of the largest sports markets due to the scale of audiences, value of media rights, and depth of sponsorship demand.

The IPL’s 2022 media rights auction generated nearly $6.2 billion for five seasons—more than double the value in previous cycles—signalling the rapid rise of India’s sports economy.

According to an article by The Economic Times, the Indian market could see similar scaling across sports, including kabaddi, football, volleyball, basketball, and combat sports.

India is also actively looking to bring back what is known as the pinnacle of motorsport, Formula 1. India currently has one race circuit, the Buddh International Circuit, with the Union Sports Ministry aiming to host a race in 2027, though it is not guaranteed.