The Rajasthan Royals sale: five weeks on, and a new offer
Last month, word circulated that a consortium led by Kal Somani had secured the Rajasthan Royals for $1.63 billion. No party to the transaction has confirmed it. The lead bidder is still assembling capital, even as a rival consortium submitted a binding offer.
On the afternoon of March 24, a senior, well-sourced journalist posted on X that a consortium led by Indian American entrepreneur Kal Somani had agreed to acquire Rajasthan Royals for $1.63 billion. Within minutes, the figure was on every major sports desk. Newswires picked up the story. ESPNcricinfo identified the Somani group.
Sportico and, in time, The State of Play ran the numbers and concluded that RedBird Capital Partners was sitting on an eightfold return. Lachlan Murdoch stood to receive about $210 million on a $2.3 million stake first taken in 2008. Siguler Guff, which came in during August 2025, was on course to more than double its money.
Within seventy-two hours, across newsrooms in Mumbai, London, New York, and Detroit, the same basic account appeared, each piece sourced to people familiar with the deal. By the second day, “Who is Kal Somani?” had hardened into its own subgenre, profiles largely reconstructed from a single LinkedIn page and assembled before any principal to the transaction had spoken on the record.
Five weeks later, they still have not. Manoj Badale, who controls Emerging Media and is the Royals’ lead owner, has kept his counsel. Somani, a Royals shareholder since 2021, has done likewise. The Raine Group, adviser on the sale, has remained silent. Rob Walton, the Walmart heir said to be in the consortium, has not commented. Nor has Sheila Ford Hamp, the Detroit Lions owner named alongside him.
The Royals are a private company. They are not subject to the disclosure obligations that govern a listed group, such as Diageo, which owned the other franchise to change hands on March 24, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). Within hours, the entities representing the Blitzer–Birla–Times of India Group–Blackstone consortium appeared in a stock exchange filing. The Royals’ transaction fell outside that regulatory perimeter. The structure permits silence, and silence has been the chosen posture.
At five weeks, that silence has become the central fact in the public account of the sale.
On Thursday, that account began to change. A rival consortium led by Aditya Mittal, son of the steel magnate LN Mittal, submitted a binding offer for the franchise, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. Somani is now pursuing a minority position rather than a controlling stake, with one of his original consortium members no longer fully committed. A final decision is expected shortly.
This reporting on the Rajasthan Royals sale process draws on conversations with around a dozen people, including investment bankers, lawyers, and others with direct or indirect knowledge of the deal. All of them spoke to The State of Play on condition of anonymity.
At the time of publication, Somani, Badale, The Raine Group, RedBird Capital Partners, and Rajasthan Royals did not respond to The State of Play’s questions. Arcelor Mittal declined to comment. The piece will be updated to reflect any responses received.
