4 min readChennaiUpdated: Mar 17, 2026 09:21 PM IST
The sale of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), a subsidiary of Diageo’s United Spirits, is entering the final stage with two parties submitting binding bids, according to those familiar with the development.
The Indian Express understands that Swedish private equity firm EQT has placed a significant bid. The other bidder is a consortium involving Ranjan Pai of Manipal Hospitals, US private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co (KKR) and Singapore-based investment group Temasek.
While there were at least five parties that showed interest in RCB, after the Monday deadline for binding bids, only two were left in the fray. Among those who have pulled the plug include the Glazers – co-owners of Manchester United – and Adar Poonawalla, who had earlier expressed interest in acquiring the franchise.
All eyes will now be on the value at which the franchise will go. As per earlier indications, the present owners were looking at a price around $2 billion. The State of Play had reported that Glazers, who had shown interest in 2021 when the Indian Premier League sold two new teams, had placed a non-binding offer of $1.8 billion. EQT is understood to have taken their bid to the range of $2 billion.
One of the reasons why not many bidders have been willing to go anywhere close to the $2 billion figure is largely down to the next IPL media rights deal, which is unlikely to witness a huge jump. However, even a final bid of $1.8 billion would be significantly higher than what the RPSG Group bought Lucknow Super Giants for – around $850 million – in 2021.
Although reports indicate that EQT could join hands with an Indian firm, The Indian Express couldn’t verify the claims independently. With two parties in fray, the sale process will enter the exclusivity phase, where the seller will evaluate the bids.
According to market insiders, this is likely to take anywhere between 45-90 days before RCB informs the BCCI – a mandatory step for the sale to go through – for the change of ownership to go through. The Diageo group had set a March 31 deadline to finalise the deal. Now, once the potential bidder is finalised, the coming months would see the process move forward with a new owner likely in place only by September or October.
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Interest for RR
While RCB is entering the final stretch of ownership transfer, Rajasthan Royals (RR) have also received plenty of interest. It is understood that at least three parties have submitted binding bids with the Aditya Birla Group understood to be favourites.
Although the early indications suggested that the franchise was looking to sell only a majority stake, it is understood that they are now open to a full sale. Manoj Badale’s Emerging Media IPL Ltd owns 65 percent stake in the Royals Sports Group. The remaining shares are owned by RedBird Capital Partners (15 percent), and Lachlan Murdoch (13 percent), while a group of individual investors holds the remaining 7 percent.
RR have been receiving bids in the range of $1.1 billion-$1.35 billion with the sale process being overseen by Raine Group, which oversaw the sale of franchises in The Hundred. The firm had overseen the sale of Manchester United and Chelsea in the past.
It is understood that the Aditya Birla Group and US-based David Blitzer have formed a consortium and submitted a binding bid. Another consortium and a leading Indian media house is also understood to be in the fray. Like in RCB’s case, the deadline for the submission of binding bids was March 16.
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However, unlike RCB which has set a deadline of March 31 to finalise the deal, RR are under no such hurry. Having received bids that meet their expectations, there is a strong likelihood that the franchise would go ahead with the sale in the coming months. For a franchise that has struggled to establish a strong home base, a valuation in the range of $1.3 billion would be considered satisfactory.
