MUMBAI: US private investment firm RedBird Capital Partners announced Thursday that it has acquired a 15% stake in Emerging Media Sporting Holding Ltd, the parent company that owns and operates Indian Premier League franchise Rajasthan Royals.
According to UK’s Financial Times, the 15% stake offload to RedBird Capital values the IPL franchise at $250 million (Rs 18.538 billion).
In a related development, the Manoj Badale-controlled Emerging Media (IPL) Ltd, the majority stakeholder in Emerging Media Sporting Holding Ltd at 53%, declared it was increasing its stake in the IPL team to 65%.
“The IPL is a dynamic league with a global audience and forward-thinking mindset regarding fan and player engagement,” said Gerry Cardinale, Founder and Managing Partner of RedBird, in an official release posted by Rajasthan Royals.
Badale said the deal is a testament to the global standing of the IPL. He noted: “We are extremely delighted to partner with RedBird, an experienced investment firm that shares our vision of driving growth and success for the Rajasthan Royals franchise.
“Such an investment is a testament to the global standing of the IPL and India as an attractive investment destination.”
As per SportzPower’s understanding, prior to these two transaction the stakeholding in Emerging Media Sporting Holding Ltd was: Emerging Media (IPL) Ltd (Manoj Badale – 53%), Kelowna Investment Ltd (Suresh Chellaram family – 33.7%), Blue Water Estate Ltd (Lachlan Murdoch – 14.6%) and Shane Warne (3% sweat equity).
At the time this report was published, SportzPower was still to ascertain the Rajasthan Royals holding company’s new shareholding structure.
Additionally, it is worth mentioning that Emerging Media (IPL) Ltd also boasts Philip Jansen, the BT Group chief executive, Ron Kalifa, the former Worldpay vice chairman, and Ed Wray, one of the founders of the betting exchange Betfair, as minority shareholders.
RedBird also recently picked up a minority stake in Fenway Sports Group, which owns English Premier League club Liverpool FC and Major League Baseball’s Red Sox, the XFL, as also the majority owner of French Lique 2 football team Toulouse FC.
Royals had won the inaugural edition of the IPL in 2008 under the leadership of Shane Warne. They finished eighth in the 2020 edition of the league with 6 wins from 14 games. In the 2021 edition, the team was placed fifth with three wins from seven games before the tournament was suspended due to COVID-19 protocol breaches.
