Mumbai: The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has sought additional information from the parties to the proposed $1.65-billion acquisition of Rajasthan Royals, saying the information submitted was incomplete, and has issued a Request for Information (RFI).
The deal involves the acquisition of three cricket franchises-Rajasthan Royals in India, Paarl Royals in South Africa and Barbados Royals in Barbados-by Westview Cricket Limited and Poonawalla Sports and Fitness Private Limited.
The Lakshmi Mittal family, through Westview Cricket, will acquire a 75% stake, while Adar Poonawalla, through Poonawalla Sports, will acquire 18%. Existing shareholders, including Manoj Badale, will retain 7%.
The filing was submitted to the CCI on July 30. The specific information sought in the RFI is not yet known.
While Rajasthan Royals declined to comment, legal experts said the CCI could seek details on the shareholding and deal structure, the parties’ businesses and affiliates, and any potential competitive overlaps.
In the filing, Westview and Poonawalla Sports said they have no business overlap with the targets or their affiliates in India in any plausible relevant market. They therefore submitted that the transaction is unlikely to cause an appreciable adverse effect on competition.
The filing identifies EM Sporting Holdings and Royal Multisport as the target entities. Royal Multisport owns and operates the Rajasthan Royals IPL franchise.
The acquisition was announced on May 3 at an enterprise value of about $1.65 billion. It followed the collapse of an earlier proposed $1.63-billion deal involving a consortium led by US technology entrepreneur Kal Somani, along with Rob Walton and Sheila Ford Hamp.
The transaction is subject to approvals from the Board of Control for Cricket in India, the CCI and the IPL Governing Council. The parties have said they expect it to close in the third quarter of 2026.
