The American dream
new delhi: IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals is set to be sold to US-based Kal Somani-led consortium for $1.63 billion (approx Rs 15,290 crore), marking a colossal hike in valuation for the outfit which was the least expensive among the original eight teams of the glitzy T20 league.
The Somani-led consortium includes Rob Walton from the Walmart family and Hamp family (Ford motor company).
Somani is an Arizona-based tech entrepreneur who has founded IntraEdge (technology services and solutions), Truyo.Ai (data privacy rights and AI governance) and Academian (edtech services).
The other contenders to buy the team, which won the inaugural trophy in 2008, were the Times Internet-led consortium, the Aditya Birla Group and the Mittal family led by ArcelorMittal CEO Aditya Mittal.
The sale of Rajasthan Royals is subject to approval from the BCCI and will come into effect after the 2026 edition. British-Indian Manoj Badale held a 65 per cent stake in the franchise, which was originally sold for $67 million in 2008 to his company Emerging Media.
“Kal is an existing investor in the franchise. The deal is subject to approval from the BCCI and will be signed soon. The price of USD 1.63 billion reflects how far the IPL has come as a brand,” a source said.
“If you look at the sale of the latest IPL entrants Lucknow Super Giants, it is way more than that. It just shows remarkable growth of the league,” shared another source drawing a comparison with sale of LSG to RPSG Group for little over Rs 7,000 crore back in 2021. I expect the deal to be announced in the next four to five days,” he added.
Another major IPL franchise, defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru, is also up for sale and the value of that deal is likely to cross $2 billion. Somani is a co-owner of the Motor City Golf Club, a Detroit-based golf team set to join Tomorrow’s Golf League (TGL) in 2027, which has been co-founded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy in partnership with the PGA Tour.
Somani is also said to be an early investor in the TGL.
The 81-year-old Rob, who is the eldest son of Walmart founder Sam Walton, had served as the company’s chairman from 1999 to 2015. In 2022, he led an ownership group which bought the National Football League team Denver Broncos.
