Kal Somani Group Breaks Silence on Rajasthan Royals Sale

Rajasthan Royals was put up for sale in March, and the process has now been completed. It is a consortium led by Adar Poonawalla and Lakshmi Mittal, which was able to get the team for a whopping total of 15,660 crore rupees or 1.65 billion US dollars. But it has also started a controversy with another consortium.

The other consortium which was active in the bidding process included the Somani Group. It was being led by various USA based investors who have teams in the NBA and other leagues. This consortium had Kal Somani, along with two other members which were, Rob Walton, who is the owner of Denver Broncos, and Michael Hamp, who is the son of the owner of Detroit Lions.

The bid placed by Mittal group was 1.65 billion, and it overtook the 1.635 billion bid by this consortium of Somani Group. Kal Somani reacted to the same by saying,“"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.”

He continued by saying,“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.”

Our Take

It is clear that the Somani Group is disappointed after they didn't get a chance to be a part of the team ownership. He stayed in the bidding process for a long time but in the end, it was just not worth it. It also remains to be seen whether Rajasthan Royals will be reacting to the same or not.