How a Failed Pelicans Bid Led RAJ Sports to Kings Co-Ownership

The family behind RAJ Sports, whose portfolio includes the WNBA’s Fire and NWSL’s Thorns, also hold a stake in the Sacramento Kings—but only because they lost out on buying the New Orleans Pelicans back when they were still the Hornets.

RAJ Sports, run by siblings Lisa Bhathal Merage and Alex Bhathal, co-owns Sacramento Basketball Holdings Group—the parent company of the NBA’s Kings, the Golden 1 Center (where the Kings play), and the G League’s Stockton Kings. RAJ Sports is also a developer of Downtown Commons, the Sacramento sports and entertainment district home to the Golden 1 Center.

The family decided to invest in pro sports after the siblings partnered with private-equity firm Swander Pace Capital in 2007 to acquire RAJ Manufacturing, the swimwear company founded by their parents, Raj and Marta Bhathal, in 1967.

Following that deal, the family looked at various opportunities across soccer, football, and basketball, before landing on the latter, Bhathal Merage tells Front Office Sports. 

“Basketball was in a similar place to where the WNBA and NWSL are now: entering a place where it’s going to explode,” she tells FOS. “Maybe it’s the background of being in fashion for so long, but I can kind of smell things before they happen.”

Eventually, the family sniffed out an opportunity in New Orleans. In 2012, the Bhathal family tried to buy the Hornets, which a year later would become the Pelicans.

“We came very, very close to being the governor and lead investor there,” Bhathal Merage says. “But it didn’t work out.”

They were bested by the Benson family, who also own the NFL’s New Orleans Saints—Tom Benson died in 2018, and his wife, Gayle Benson, now controls the Saints and Pelicans. In a showing of how high pro team valuations have gotten, the Bensons purchased the NBA team in 2012 for $338 million—today, with a valuation of $3.55 billion, the Pelicans are considered the second least valuable team in the NBA, according to Forbes—that’s a roughly 950% increase in value over the course of a little more than a decade.

“The decision was made that the Bensons were the right owners because they have such a presence in New Orleans,” Bhathal Merage tells FOS. “I think they are just so integrated into the community.”

The Bhathal family’s disappointment was short-lived, thanks to former NBA commissioner David Stern.

“He said to my dad, ‘I may have something better for you,’” Bhathal Merage says. “He connected us with Vivek Ranadivé in Sacramento. Now, my dad is the alternative governor and vice chair there, and my brother is on the executive board.”

They bought into the Kings in 2013. In addition to the Bhathal family and Ranadivé, private-equity firm Arctos owns a minority stake in the Kings (Arctos was acquired by KKR in February, although the deal has yet to close). The Kings haven’t had much success since the Bhathals bought in—they’ve finished over .500 just twice and are currently 18-53 this season—but the Bhathal family’s role is focused on the boardroom, not the hardwood.

“We are not involved from an operational standpoint or any day-to-day decisions,” Bhathal Merage tells FOS. “We’re involved from a board standpoint.”

RAJ Sports tried to add to its portfolio of Portland-based sports assets last year by bidding for the Trail Blazers, but were beaten out by Tom Dundon, who bought the team for more than $4 billion. If RAJ Sports had succeeded in buying the Blazers, it would have been required to sell its stake in the Kings under NBA rules.

Bhathal Merage, who lives in Newport Beach, California, described missing out on the Blazers as the “big stinger,” but said “it’s in the past.” Even though they sought to acquire a third Portland-based team, the idea of being Portland’s flagship owner of franchises was “not a conscious decision.”

“It’s something that just kind of happened to us,” she tells FOS. “Being in this business, there are a lot of opportunities that come across your desk.”

They acquired the Thorns in 2024 because it seemed like a great opportunity, and the Fire became available by happenstance. ZoomInfo cofounder Kirk Brown appeared set to buy the expansion franchise, but the agreement collapsed in the final hour.

“Something fell through with that governor, so we stepped in and let the league know we were available,” Bhathal Merage says. “It’s kind of like the universe told us we needed to have these two teams in Portland.”