RCB Up For Sale: Blackstone Emerges As Another High-Profile Entry For 2 Billion US Dollar-Valued Franchise

IPL 2026: Among the most followed and wealthiest sports leagues around the world, the Indian Premier League garners a massive amount of interest, which is not just limited to normal fans but also to the richest in the business. Individuals, entities, and firms – almost all of them want a piece of the IPL, which is a hotbed of profits for its current stakeholders. Seldom is there an opportunity for an entity to associate itself with the league in the capacity of a stakeholder.

Interestingly, the defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru, who broke their trophy drought last season, are up for sale as per several reports. With established players like Glazers, Aditya Birla Group, Premji Invests, and Manipal Group in the race, Blackstone Inc is considering buying a stake, which will be its first sports investment in its portfolio as per a report.   

The report in Bloomberg stated that, “The firm is considering committing to somewhere close to $200 million and $300 million through its Blackstone Private Equity Strategies Fund for either of the two Indian Premier League teams (one being RCB) currently up for sale.”

Rajasthan Royals Up For Sale Too

There are also reports of the Rajasthan Royals being up for sale, as Blackstone Private Equity Strategies Fund is also looking to buy a stake in the 2008 champions as well. 

Final Bids Submitted For RCB

Final bids for the Royal Challengers were made, including one from EQT AB and billionaire Wipro founder Azim Premji’s family office, as well as another from a consortium headed by Ranjan Pai, a billionaire from Manipal Hospitals, sources reported. The report also mentioned that bidders are continuing to assess the sale of the Rajasthan Royals stake.

In contrast to the original team sales by the Board of Control for Cricket in India, which necessitated payment over a decade, new purchasers must pay the entire amount upfront, the report revealed. The most recent stake sales might appraise the two franchises between $1.3 billion and $2 billion.

Why is IPL in demand?

IPL, which overshadows everything for two months in a year, has some of the most important people associated with it. Team owners include Mukesh Ambani, India’s richest person, and Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan.

Owning a stake in an IPL team provides visibility to owners among consumers in one of the globe’s rapidly expanding wealth markets, which boasts around 917,000 millionaires and 188 billionaires, as reported by UBS Group AG.

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