April 18, 2024
Saudi Arabia is interested in buying into cricket’s Indian Premier League (IPL), according to Bloomberg.
Advisers to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman have reportedly sounded out Indian government officials about moving the domestic franchise Twenty20 competition into a holding company valued at as much as US$30 billion, in which Saudi Arabia would then take a significant stake.
Talks purportedly took place in September when bin Salman visited India, with the Gulf state proposing to invest as much as US$5 billion into the IPL and help lead the league’s expansion into other countries.
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) could ultimately be the vehicle used to do a deal with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) if an agreement is reached, though no final decisions have yet been made.
