The Indian Premier League (IPL) is bracing for a massive ownership overhaul as the sale of two foundation franchises: Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Rajasthan Royals (RR), enters its final, high-stakes stretch.
According to an Indian Express report, the field of bidders has narrowed significantly following the Monday deadline for binding bids. While the RCB valuation is touching the historic $2 billion mark, RR are seeing intense interest in the $1.1 billion to $1.35 billion range.
The race to acquire RCB: Two frontrunners
Despite initial interest from at least five global heavyweights, including the Glazer family (Manchester United) and Adar Poonawalla, only two parties remain in the fray for the Bengaluru franchise.
EQT (Swedish Private Equity): The firm has reportedly submitted a bid in the $2 billion range as per the Indian Express report.
The Mega-Consortium: A powerful group involving Ranjan Pai (Manipal Hospitals), US private equity giant KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co), and Singapore’s Temasek.
Diageo’s United Spirits has set a March 31 deadline to finalise the deal. While the Glazers placed a non-binding offer of $1.8 billion as per the same Indian Express report, they have since pulled the plug leaving the EQT and the Manipal-KKR-Temasek group to battle it out in the exclusivity phase.
The Aditya Birla Group frontrunners in race to purchase RR
Unlike RCB, the Rajasthan Royals are not in a hurry to close, but the bidding war is equally fierce. At least three parties have submitted binding bids, with the Aditya Birla Group currently considered the frontrunner.
The Aditya Birla Group has reportedly formed a consortium with US-based David Blitzer to acquire the franchise with bids hovering between $1.1 billion and $1.35 billion, with the figures confirmed as per the Express piece.
While the Royals were initially looking to sell a majority stake, the franchise will open to a full sale of the 65% stake held by Manoj Badale’s Emerging Media IPL Ltd, along with shares held by RedBird Capital and Lachlan Murdoch.