Kal Somani-Backed Consortium Completes Takeover Of Rajasthan Royals, IPL Franchise Sold For Whopping $1.63 Billion: Report

A Kal Somani-backed consortium has bought the IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals for a whopping $1.63 billion(INR 15300 crore), as per reports. The consortium also happens to have the backing of Rob Walton of Walmart. All the stakeholders have reportedly put pen to paper on the dotted lines, and a formal announcement could be made anytime soon.

Rajasthan Royals To Have A New Owner

The execution of the takeover is to be completed after IPL 2026. Somani already had a minority stake in RR, and he will now have complete control once the deal is in place after IPL 2026. Sam Walton happens to be the son of the Walmart founder and he is one of the richest people on the planet currently. March 16 was the last date to submit a bid for the buying process.

The franchise’s majority stake was held by Manoj Badale through Emerging Media Ventures, which controlled roughly 65 per cent of the 2008 IPL winners. Among other investors, RedBird Capital Partners was one of the prominent names. They became the first IPL franchise to breach the $1 billion valuation. Somani is the founder of global giants such as IntraEdge, Truyo, Truyo.AI and Academian.

RCB Sale Also Under Process

IPL 2025 champions CB have also been put up for sale and they are reportedly in the last stage of finalising terms for the takeover. The Glazers, co-owners of Manchester United and Adar Poonawalla, CEO of the Serum Institute of India, have emerged as the interested parties. The owners courted a valuation of around $2 billion, as per reports.

US private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co (KKR) and Singapore-based investment group Temasek are also known to be admirers and are among the frontrunners in the deal. There have been doubts over the valuation as interested parties are unsure to breach the desired $2 billion valuation due to the fact that the next IPL media rights deal is unlikely to fetch a higher value.

Also Read: RCB Announce Special Tribute To Honour Stampede Victims, To Reserve 11 Empty Seats At Chinnaswamy Stadium Ahead Of IPL 2026 Opener