The Mittal Family's Multimillion-Dollar Sports Venture

Mittal Family Acquires Rajasthan Royals in $1.65 Billion Deal

India Inc's executives and sports fanatics were dealt a surprise on Sunday, May 3, as Lakshmi Mittal, Executive Chairman of global steel giant Arcelor Mittal, and Aditya Mittal, CEO of the firm, announced a definitive pact to acquire Rajasthan Royals, the first team to lift the IPL trophy, in partnership with Adar Poonawalla, CEO of Serum Institute of India, for an enterprise value of $1.65 billion.

The sudden development came as a surprise to many, as a consortium led by serial entrepreneur Kal Somani had earlier entered into exclusive negotiations for the team in mid to late March and was widely considered the front-runner to bag the deal. However, it is now clear that those discussions did not fructify into an eventual deal during the exclusivity period.

The Mittal family will own around 75% of the IPL franchise, with Adar Poonawalla holding approximately 18% and the remaining 7% held by approved existing investors, including key existing shareholder Manoj Badale. This deal marks a significant expansion of the Mittal family's sports portfolio, which already includes the NBA's Boston Celtics.

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Comparison of IPL Franchise Sales

The Mittal family's interest in the sports industry is not new, as they have already made a big-bang entry into the NBA with the acquisition of the Boston Celtics last year. The family also took a bet on Britain's Championship football club Queen's Park Rangers in 2007.

Lakshmi Mittal, who grew up in the village of Sadulpur in North Rajasthan, struck a nostalgic note post sealing the deal, saying, "I love cricket and my family is from Rajasthan, so there is no IPL team that I would rather be a part of than the Rajasthan Royals."

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Aditya Mittal, a sports enthusiast and CEO of Arcelor Mittal since 2021, will serve as the Vice-Chairman, Co-Owner, and Alternate Governor of the Celtics, according to a deal disclosure. The family's acquisition of Rajasthan Royals is seen as a strategic move to bolster their sports portfolio with a prized India asset.

Former IPL chairman Lalit Modi welcomed the news, saying, "The best news's one can think off for the IPL - two of the most savvy investors - IPL could not have better owners than this. It's such a day of pride and joy for me personally to see that Lakshmi Mittal and Adar Poonawalla have embraced something I spent my life building."

Deals are brewing in two other IPL teams as well, with a part stake sale reportedly brewing at the KKR franchise and Sanjiv Goenka-led RP-SG group planning to sell a minority stake in Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).