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Following completion of the transaction, the Mittal family will own around 75% of the franchise, while Poonawalla will hold about 18%.
Mumbai: The family of steel magnate Lakshmi N. Mittal has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Rajasthan Royals in partnership with Adar Poonawalla, in a transaction valuing the cricket franchise at approximately $1.65 billion.
The acquisition is from the current ownership group led by Manoj Badale and consortium investors, a statement from the Mittal family said on Sunday.
“Aditya Mittal will take the lead position on behalf of the family. The deal was signed last night,” a person with direct knowledge of the development told Mint. As part of the new structure, Lakshmi Mittal, Aditya Mittal, Vanisha Mittal-Bhatia, Adar Poonawalla, and Manoj Badale will join the board of Rajasthan Royals.
Following completion of the transaction, the Mittal family will own around 75% of the franchise, while Poonawalla will hold about 18%.
The remaining 7% will continue to be held by approved existing investors, including Badale, who will remain involved with the franchise, the statement added.
The deal values the Rajasthan Royals men’s IPL franchise along with its overseas teams—Paarl Royals in South Africa and Barbados Royals in the Caribbean.
Poonawalla’s participation comes months after he was linked to the high-profile bidding process for Royal Challengers Bengaluru, which was eventually sold to a consortium led by the Aditya Birla Group in a deal valued at around $1.78 billion. His move into Rajasthan Royals signals continued interest among India’s top business families in premium cricket assets.
Completion of the transaction is subject to customary approvals from the Board of Control for Cricket in India, the Competition Commission of India, the IPL Governing Council, and other regulators, and is expected in the July-September quarter of 2026, the statement said.
The deal marks one of the largest transactions involving an Indian Premier League franchise, highlighting the rising value of premium sports assets linked to the world’s richest cricket tournament.
About the Author
Mansi Verma
Mansi Verma is a senior correspondent covering private capital in India for Mint. Think of strategy shifts, private equity and venture capital deals, the companies trying to go public, and occasionally, the ones falling apart.<br><br>She moved into this beat in 2022, and has been following it closely since. Prior to Mint, Mansi worked at Moneycontrol, where she covered jobs and edtech, reporting extensively on the 2022–2024 startup and IT layoffs cycle. Her work during this period focused on what happens to fast-growing companies when capital dries up, combining financial reporting with human-interest stories.<br><br>Mansi reported closely on Byju’s during a critical phase in its unravelling, and has since built a strong understanding of edtech businesses, particularly unicorns, and the deeper structural challenges in education that many of them have struggled to solve. At Mint, she follows the flow of capital across VC and PE deals, exits and IPO pipelines, while also tracking large investment firms, and the financial services sector.<br><br>Outside of the newsroom, Mansi spends time exploring how technology is changing the way people think and work, while actively attempting to build a critical thinking human brain in the age of short-form everything.<br><br>She holds a Master’s degree in journalism and has moderated industry discussions on financial services and investments.
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