India Mumbai Indians Pvt Ltd, incorporated in South Africa, owns the Cape Town franchise in SA20, the franchise-based T20 league launched by South African Cricket. Indiawin Sports Middle East Limited, incorporated in the UAE, owns the MI Emirates franchise.
RSBVL invested $6.246 million worth of equity in India Mumbai Indians Pty Ltd in November and $5 million in Indiawin Sports Middle East in October, according to RBI data. All six franchises in SA20 go to IPL Franchise owner.
Apart from Reliance, the other franchise owners of SA20 are RPSG Sports, Indian cementRajasthan Royals, JSW Sports and Sun TV Network. CSA owns 57.5% of SA20, followed by sports broadcaster SuperSport with 30%. Former Indian Premier League (IPL) chief operating officer Sundar Raman holds a 12.5% stake in the league.
IL20 was established by the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) under the chairmanship of Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan. Billionaire Gautam Adani also owns the Gulf Giants franchise in the league.
Three of the five teams in IL T20 are owned by IPL franchises. Apart from Reliance, Knight Knights owned by Shah Rukh Khan and Delhi Capitals jointly owned by GMR Group acquired Knights Knights Abu Dhabi and Capitals Dubai respectively.
A recent report by D and P Advisory noted that there is a growing trend of IPL franchise owners buying teams in the international T20 league. The report added that teams with multiple leagues have a lot of synergy. Owning teams in non-IPL cricket leagues can help teams achieve economies of scale through greater operational efficiency and cross-league support and substitutability of coaching staff, it said.
It added that having teams in the global T20 league helps maintain fan engagement throughout the year.