The Mittal Group and Adar Poonawalla have bought the RR franchise for USD 1.65 billion.
On March 24, it was announced that Somani, along with Rob Walton of the Walmart family and the Hamp family, who own the NFL's Detroit Lions, had acquired the RR franchise for USD 1.63 billion or approx. INR 15,000 crore.
However, on May 3, it was announced that the Mittal family, led by Lakshmi N. Mittal, Aditya Mittal, and Adar Poonawalla of the Serum Institute of India, had entered into an agreement to buy the majority stake in the RR franchise for approximately USD 1.65 billion (around Rs 15,660 crore).
Reports were suggesting that the Somani-led consortium had pulled out of the race for the franchise. Now, they're claiming that they had been wronged during the process.
"We are deeply disappointed not to be part of the Rajasthan Royals ownership group, following a long six-month process in which we were the lead bid from start to finish. Our consortium worked tirelessly to assemble a distinguished group of investors, with ownership experience across the NFL, MLB, EPL, La Liga, and TGL. Included in the group were select global superstars from the top tiers of professional sports.
We were all motivated by the opportunity to help take the IPL to new international heights. Throughout the process, we were the strongest group at every stage, competing against some of the most prominent investors across the sports investing landscape," the Kal Somani-led group said in a statement.
The group said that they were fully funded, prepared to conclude the purchase, and had never withdrawn their proposal, according to reports currently circulating in the media.
Additionally, they claimed that the process wasn't fair in the end and that it should be carried out in a transparent, consistent, honest, and sincere manner.
"Contrary to stories that have been planted in the press, our group was and has always been fully funded, prepared to close with certainty, and never withdrew our bid. We had executed documentation in place and were told that the franchise’s board meeting on Saturday was held to approve our contract. In the end, this was never the case. We approached this process with the highest standards of honesty, integrity, professionalism, and good faith, but unfortunately, that wasn’t enough,” the statement read.
They also emphasized the lack of a level playing field in the process.
We do not believe the outcome ultimately reflected a level playing field, and it is difficult to reconcile the strength of our bid and preparedness to close with the final decision. While we respect competitive outcomes, we also believe that processes of this significance should be conducted with transparency, consistency, integrity, and in good faith," said the group.
The consortium expressed its opinion of the result as a learning curve and wished RR continued success.
"While this outcome is both surprising and disappointing, we view this experience as part of a broader journey. We remain proud of the partners with whom we work, the speed at which we are able to execute, and the shared vision that unites us.
Our belief in the global growth of sport remains as strong as ever. We look forward to channelling that energy into future opportunities where we can deploy our capital, expertise, and long-term commitment. We wish the Rajasthan Royals success going forward and thank all those who were a key part of the journey alongside of us," said the group.
The Mittal Group and Adar Poonawalla Group will also have the ownership of RR’s sister teams, Paarl Royals in South Africa and Barbados Royals in the Caribbean.
Once the deal is finalized, the Mittal family will hold a 75% stake, while Poonawalla will own around 18%. The remaining 7% will stay with existing shareholders, including Badale.
(PTI inputs)