A pink colored bus prepares for the Rajasthan Royals team ahead of the Indian Premier League at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Saturday. (OR) Rajasthan Royals was one of the eight original franchises auctioned by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in early 2008 ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the city’s T20 competition. Mumbai Indians topped the list, fetching $111.90 million, followed by Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at $111.60 million. At the other end of the spectrum were the Rajasthan Royals, who were picked up by Emerging Media Group for $67 million.The Manoj Badale-led group was the lead investor in the Jaipur-based franchise, which won the first edition of the IPL in 2008.Emerging Media increased its stake in the franchise from 51 percent to 65 percent in 2021. That same year, American firm RedBird Capital Partners bought a minority stake of nearly 15 percent for $37.5 million, valuing the team at about $250 million.
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Gujarat Titans believe ahead of IPL 2026: ‘We are here to win, not participate’ The franchise was subsequently owned and controlled by Emerging Media Group, RedBird Capital Partners, and Lachlan Murdoch, CEO of Fox Corporation, among other minor stakeholders.During this increased ownership period in 2021, Emerging Media IPL Limited has raised funding from several individual investors, including Kal Somani, Ian McKinnon, Phil Jansen, Ron Kalifa, Ed Wray, Simer Mayo and Mihir Patel.“We see huge potential in this investment and are excited about the future of the IPL,” Somani said at the time.In late 2025 and early 2026, Rajasthan Royals began the process of selling the franchise, seeking a valuation of over $1 billion.On March 24, after months of discussions, a consortium led by Kal Somani, backed by American businessman Rob Walton of the Walmart family and the Hamp family, which owns Ford Motor Company, bought 100 percent of the franchise for $1.63 billion.In absolute terms, the franchise has seen an increase in value of $1.563 billion over 19 years. This represents an increase of 2,332.84 percent, or 24.33 times the original price paid by Emerging Media.Looking deeper, Rajasthan Royals went from $67 million in 2008 (approx Rs 2,680 crore; $1 = Rs 40) to $1.63 billion in 2026 (approx 15,300 crore; $1 = Rs 93.9).
