In a fresh twist to the sale of Rajasthan Royals, the Kal Somani group, which was close to buying the IPL franchise before it was acquired by the Lakshmi Mittal-led consortium, said it was surprised and disappointed by the turn of events.
Steel magnate Mittal, along with Adar Poonawalla of Serum Institute, bought the Royals for US$1.65 billion.
“Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough,” a joint statement issued by the US-based Somani, Rob Walton, Jordan Walton and Michael Hamp said on Tuesday.
“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...,” the joint statement read.
The consortium had reportedly locked in a $1.63 billion buyout before the deal fell through. “Throughout the process, we were the strongest group, competing against some of the most prominent investors.”
It is understood that the final decision was arrived at by the Royals board over the weekend earlier this month. The Somani-led consortium rejected speculation that it had “withdrawn” its bid and did not have enough funds.