New Delhi: Tiger Global, an investment firm, is in talks to buy a stake in the Indian Premier League (IPL) team Rajasthan Royals. The American investment firm is likely to invest $40 million in Rajasthan Royals, which will take the team’s total valuation to $650 million.

As the Economic Times reported, Tiger Global’s investment could be direct or indirect, the report also said that there would be chances that Tiger Global backs any one of the shareholders in Rajasthan Royals through the capital infusion.

It will not be the first investment of the firm in the sports economy, previously too it has invested in India’s Dream Sports, which owns the fantasy gaming platform Dream11.

While Tiger Global is in discussions with other franchises too, the deal is likely to be closed with Rajasthan Royals soon. Earlier in 2021, US-based RedBird Capital had also invested in Rajasthan Royals at a valuation of $250 million.

How will it impact India’s sports sector?

This funding of Tiger Global In Rajasthan Royals could lead to a sudden push into India’s sporting economy and an expansion beyond the digital commerce sector.

Tiger Global investment firm is known to have funded companies like Flipkart, Zomato, Ola and Delhivery among others.

Rajasthan Royal’s parent firm Emerging Media is owned by UK-based Manoj Badale and has captured more than 60% of the franchise and got the rights in the year 2008.

In the year 2021, US-based RedBird Capital took shares in a secondary deal which valued Rajasthan Royals at more than 4250 million.

On Sunday, Rajasthan Royals were thrown out of the race for IPL 2023 playoffs by Mumbai Indians’ dominant eight-wicket victory against Sunrisers Hyderabad.