Arctors Partners sees investment potential in the Indian Premier League, a cricket competition that, in less than 20 years, has come to rank among the most valuable in sports.
Speaking on the sidelines of the SuperReturn conference in Berlin, partner Alastair Seaman told Pitchbook that Arctos‘s acquisition by KKR would help mitigate governance concerns related to investing in the IPL, which has shaken up the staid world of cricket with its attacking playing style, celebrity-owned franchises and auctions that allow star players to become rich overnight.
“We didn’t have any governance presence in India,” he said. “We didn’t have as strong of a texture and context for the family and strategic relationships that matter there. But now in partnership with KKR we have that texture.”
Seaman said the Indian Premier League was an example of the type of deals the KKR partnership could allow Arctos to execute.
“We haven’t done that yet, but you can see in theory how that could be quite an attractive opportunity,” he said.
KKR has offices in Mumbai and Gurugram and manages more than $10 billion of assets in India.
The firm made its largest investment in the country in 2020, plowing around $1.5 billion into telecoms business Jio Platforms. Jio is owned by Mukesh Ambani, India’s richest man and the owner of the Mumbai Indians, a five-time IPL winner.
In February, KKR acquired 100% of Dallas-headquartered Arctos in a deal valuing the firm at $1.4 billion.
Last year, the IPL was valued at $18.5 billion by investment bank Houlihan Lokey, placing it behind the major US sports leagues but ahead of La Liga and the Premier League, the top soccer competitions of Spain and England.
Seaman said Arctos was looking to capitalize on consumers’ continued willingness to pay for live sports broadcasting and in-person games, something that couldn’t be replaced with AI.
Arctos holds minority stakes in NFL teams including the Buffalo Bills, Los Angeles Chargers and Cleveland Browns; NBA franchises Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings; and European soccer clubs Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool, to name a few.
In North America, 75 major sports teams have some connection to private equity, according to PitchBook. Of the five largest European football clubs, over 36% had financial backing from PE, venture capital or private debt firms at the onset of the 2025-26 season.
Blackstone, CVC Capital Partners and RedBird Capital have already taken the IPL plunge, acquiring positions in Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Gujarat Titans and Rajasthan Royals, respectively.
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