IN A LANDMARK DEVELOPMENT in global sports investments, a consortium led by entrepreneur Kal Somani, backed by Rob Walton of the Walmart family and Sheila Ford Hamp from the Hamp family, has reportedly acquired IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals, marking one of the most significant ownership transitions in the league’s history.
While financial details of the transaction have not been officially disclosed, reports indicate that the deal values Rajasthan Royals at $1.63 billion, underlining the continued surge in valuations of franchises in the closed league with only 10 teams.
Kal Somani is a US-based entrepreneur based in Arizona, and is active in the sectors of ed-tech, artificial intelligence, sports technology and data privacy. Rob Walton, the eldest son of Walmart owner Sam Walton, is the lead owner of the Denver Broncos, and led the $4.65 billion acquisition of the NFL franchise. Sheila Ford Hamp, the great-granddaughter of Henry Ford, is the principal owner of Detroit Lions in the NFL and is credited with rebuilding the team’s culture and performance, including consecutive playoffs starting in 2023.
The deal reinforces several macro trends which augur well for cricket’s largest professional league. IPL has moved to a global sports asset class and the valuation makes franchises now comparable to mid-tier European football clubs and NBA teams in valuation multiples. The continued participation of institutional investors signals long-term private equity confidence in media rights growth, India’s cricket consumption economy, data-driven decision-making, and commercial scalability.
This sale will trigger revaluation of other IPL teams, accelerate stake sales or partial exits by existing owners, and attract sovereign wealth funds and global sports capital into Indian cricket.
Investment bank The Raine Group acting as advisor had initiated the sale process in 2025, and bidders included the Aditya Birla Group and US-based sports investor David Blitzer.
Rajasthan Royals (RR) holds a unique place in IPL history as the inaugural champions (2008). Conceived as a “Moneyball-style” franchise, RR built its identity around scouting undervalued talent and promoting young Indian players.
The franchise has seen multiple ownership and structural changes since its inception. The original ownership (2008) was led by Emerging Media IPL Ltd, a consortium headed by UK-based entrepreneur Manoj Badale which won the franchise with a id of $67 million.
In 2009, Raj Kundra and his wife, Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty bought a 11.7% stake in RR, through investments made via offshore entities. The deal was estimated to be around $15.4 million, implying an early valuation of $130 million.
The association was short-lived with Kundra being questioned in 2013 in the IPL spot-fixing and betting scandal, leading to a lifetime ban from cricket activities and the franchise getting suspended for two years during the 2016 and 2017 editions. In 2015, he was forced to exit and transfer his stake and he reportedly reached a settlement with the franchise.
The franchise had to then rebuild itself with renewed governance structures and regain investor confidence, which translated into a US-based private equity firm RedBird Capital Partners acquiring a minority stake which valued the franchise at approximately $250–300 million, reflecting early-stage institutional interest in IPL assets. With IPL media rights skyrocketing and franchise revenues expanding, RR’s valuation saw exponential growth and industry estimates had placed the franchise between $800 million to $1 billion by 2024–25.
