Sanjiv Goenka makes a billion dollar comeback to the world's biggest T20 stage

• The Sanjiv Goenka-led RPSG group has bagged the Lucknow franchise of the IPL.
• Goenka is happy about the purchase and confident that the investment will be profitable.
• Here’s everything you need to know about the Kolkata-based business tycoon.

The Sanjiv Goenka-led RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group (RPSG) has bagged the new Lucknow franchise in the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL) for a whopping ₹7,090 crore – close to a billion dollars – marking a return for the company to the world's biggest T20 league.

The RPSG group was founded by Sanjiv Goenka in 2011, after RPG Enterprises, founded by his father Rama Prasad Goenka, was divided between Sanjiv and Harsh Goenka.

The RPSG group is a Kolkata-based conglomerate and its major businesses include CESC, a power generation and distribution company, the 120-year-old music company Saregama and the recently launched snacks brand Too Yumm!

The company also operates Spencer’s retail chain, Nature’s Basket, Woodlands Hospital, Harrisons Malayalam and several other companies, making it a total of 22 companies.

According to Forbes, Sanjiv Goenka has a net worth of $2.7B (approx. ₹20,250 crore). The RPSG group reported a revenue of ₹26,634 crore as on March 31, 2021 and has assets worth over ₹47,000 crore.

Goenka’s love for sports

For Sanjiv Goenka, winning the bid for Lucknow may not be just an investment. Goenka’s love for sports is evident from his other ventures as well.


Sanjiv Goenka holds a stake in the ATK Mohun Bagan football club, which is a part of the Indian Super League (ISL). Sourav Ganguly, the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is also a co-owner of the ATK Mohun Bagan.

The group is also involved in table tennis and owns the RPSG Mavericks Kolkata, which is part of India’s biggest table tennis league, the Ultimate Table Tennis League.

Sanjiv Goenka’s second stint in IPL

Sanjiv Goenka’s RPSG is no stranger to the Indian Premier League – it had a two-year stint in the IPL after it bagged the Rising Pune Supergiant franchise for IPL 2016 and 2017, after Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals were suspended from the tournament for two years.

Since 2017, Goenka has been eyeing a return to the IPL. In 2016, the team had an average outing, ending up seventh on the table with just five wins. After this, Goenka took the bold decision of dropping Mahendra Singh Dhoni from captaincy and handed over the reins to Steve Smith.

This decision turned out well for the team and the team went on to the finals, losing the title to Mukesh Ambani’s Mumbai Indians by the barest of margins – just 1 run.

Goenka has returned to IPL with the acquisition of IPL’s latest franchise, Lucknow. The RPSG group had bid for Lucknow, Ahmedabad and Indore.

We’ve done our math, says Goenka

Soon after the BCCI announced that the RPSG group had won the bid for the Lucknow franchise, Goenka spoke to Cricbuzz. Here are some of the key takeaways from the interview.

Speaking about why the group selected Lucknow despite winning the bid for both Ahmedabad and Lucknow, Goenka said, “We have operations in Uttar Pradesh. We do power distribution there. We have a very big presence in the northern state. Closer by in Chandigarh, we have the power distribution rights. So for North India, that becomes like a hinterland.”

Goenka also revealed the math behind the decision to bid over ₹7,000 crore for the team. “I will probably be paying only ₹3,500 crore in 10 years. It is because I will be getting ₹3,500 crore from the BCCI from the broadcast rights. In the next five years, I may get more [from the BCCI]. The net present value of that is ₹2,100 crore. That means I have got an IPL team for ₹2,100 crore. Tell me, is it good or not?”.

In an interview to Moneycontrol, Goenka revealed that he expects the franchise to be worth over ₹10,000 crore in five years.

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