Rajasthan Royals, the reigning IPL champions, have sold a 11.7% stake in their franchise for approximately US$15.4 million to Shilpa Shetty, the Bollywood actress, and her partner Raj Kundra, a UK-based businessman. That puts the valuation of the franchise at around $140 million, more than double the $67 million the owners, Emerging Media, paid for it a little over a year ago.
Shetty, winner of the UK TV show Celebrity Big Brother in 2006, is the fourth Bollywood personality to be associated with the IPL, after Preity Zinta (Kings XI Punjab), Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla (Kolkata Knight Riders).
Manoj Badale, representing Emerging Media, described the new deal - the first known instance of a franchise selling part of its stake - as "a strategic alliance".The focus last year, he said, was to make Rajasthan Royals a well-known brand in India; this year the strategy is to globalise it.
"We want to make Rajasthan Royals into more than a cricket franchise, want to make it into a global brand. It was the second-most popular team in all of India last year," he said.
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