Rajasthan Royals Ownership Changes Hands for $1.65 Billion

New Delhi. The ownership of Indian Premier League (IPL) team Rajasthan Royals has changed. Indian billionaire businessmen Lakshmi Mittal and Adar Poonawalla have bought Rajasthan Royals for $1.65 billion (approximately 15,660 crore Indian rupees). This deal includes the ownership of Rajasthan Royals as well as South Africa's Pearl Royals and Caribbean Premier League's Barbados Royals. According to an official statement released on Sunday, the Mittal family has finalized the deal with main investor Manoj Badale. In the new ownership structure, the Mittal family will have a 75 percent stake and Serum Institute of India chief Adar Poonawalla will have an 18 percent stake. The remaining 7 percent shares will reportedly remain with the old investor Manoj Badale and others. This deal has also surpassed the $1.635 billion offer made by American investors in March. Rajasthan Royals, which was bought for only $67 million in 2008, has seen its value increase 58 times in 18 years. Earlier, American entrepreneur G. M. Somani and a group of NFL team owners had tried to buy Rajasthan, but in the final stage, Mittal and Poonawalla's group won. The Mittal family and Poonawalla had previously tried to buy Royal Challengers Bangalore. They will officially join the board once the approval process of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is completed by the third quarter of 2026. Lakshmi Mittal, born in Sadulpur, Rajasthan, has expressed happiness at being associated with the team from his ancestral home. He said that it is a matter of pride to become a part of this team as his family is from Rajasthan. Similarly, Manoj Badale has expressed confidence that the new owners' passion for cricket and their old relationship with Rajasthan will make the team's future journey even more successful. The team has stated that Badale will now act as a bridge between the new owners and the old history.