IPL 2026: Rajasthan Royals sold for USD 1.63 billion to US based businessman Kal Somani

Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Rajasthan Royals (RR) will have new owners after the upcoming season of the tournament, having been bought by Kal Somani, a US-based businessman. A consortium led by Somani has won the bid to own Rajasthan Royals for a staggering USD 1.63 billion or approximately Rs. 15,283 crore, making it the biggest such deal in IPL history.

The majority of the ownership of Rajasthan Royals was with Manoj Badale through Emerging Media Ventures, which held about 65 per cent. On the other hand, RedBird Capital Partners and Lachlan Murdoch were among the other stakeholders. The stake sale process was started last year, as the current owners were in talks for a 100% sale of the team.'

Apart from IPL, the consortium will also have ownership of all of Royals' branded teams, namely Paarl Royals in SA20, and Barbados Royals in the CPL.

According to reports, Somani has the backing of American businessman Rob Walton, of the Walmart family, and the Hamp family, which also holds stocks in the NFL's Detroit Lions. Somani has founded several global giants such as IntraEdge, Truyo, Truyo.AI and Academian. He has also led enterprises in ed-tech, data privacy, AI governance and sports tech.

Aditya Birla group-led consortium buys RCB

Somani ventured into sports with a sole focus on sports tech, but it quickly transitioned into team ownership. Outside of IPL, Somani is also a co-owner of the Motor City Golf Club and was an early investor in TMRW Sports (the tech-focused sports venture founded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy) and the TGL Golf League.

The Somani-led consortium emerged as the winner after multiple rounds of bidding on March 20, including more than one final round of binding bids. As per reports, they outbid rivals, including Manchester United co-owner Avran Glazer, who headed Lancer Capital, as well as Capri Group, the Aditya Birla Group, and Times of India Group. That pair jointly went on to buy Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) franchise in IPL and WPL as part of a consortium.