Indian businessman Lakshmi Mittal, who owns Arcelor Mittal, recently acquired IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals alongside Adar Poonawala who is the CEO of Serum Institute of India and Chairman of Poonawala Fincorp.

 The deal is expected to be around US $ 1.65 billion, which is approx INR 15660 crore. Both parties will also hold ownership of Paarl Royals as well as Barbados Royals in the SA20 and Caribbean Premier League, respectively.

As per reports, the Mittal family will own around 75% of the franchise, Adar Poonawala will own 18% of RR, while the current owners, which also includes Manoj Badale, will own 7 % of RR.

Kal Somani led a group based in the USA alongside two NFL franchises: Rob Walton (Denver Broncos) and Michael Hamp, the son of Sheila Hamp, owner of the Detroit Lions, who was interested in the bid.

They were close to signing the deal and even took the lead ahead of Manchester United Co-owner Avram Glazer, who is also the owner of Lancer Capital, the Times of India Group, and the Aditya Birla Group, but it is not clear why they weren’t able to sign the deal.

The approval process from the Competition Commission of India, BCCI, IPL Governing Council and other authorities might be completed in Q3 2026. Lakshmi Mittal’s son Aditya Mittal and daughter Vanisha Mittal Bhatia are also a part of the group.

 Latham & Watkins LLP, Trilegal and Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas will be the legal counsels, while Goldman Sachs will be the financial advisers, and Price Waterhouse & Co LLP, the tax adviser.

Deloitte will be the financial adviser, Ernst & Young will be the tax adviser, and Raine were the commercial adviser during the process. AZB & Partners will be the legal counsel alongside Macfarlanes LLP.