EQT AB has entered the competitive auction process for ownership of the Indian Premier League team Royal Challengers Bengaluru, intensifying a growing private equity-led bidding war for one of cricket’s most valuable franchises, according to a report by Markets Group.
Thew report cites unnamed people familiar with the matter as revealing that EQT is preparing a binding offer that could value the franchise at between $2bn and $2.1bn, surpassing earlier non-binding proposals that included an approximately $1.8bn indication from Lancer Capital linked to investor Avram Glazer.
The transaction has attracted a broad mix of global financial and strategic bidders, with a shortlist of around nine to ten parties progressing to the next stage of the process. Final binding offers are expected imminently, with deal completion targeted shortly after negotiations conclude.
Other participants reportedly still in contention include Indian business figures such as Adar Poonawalla and Ranjan Pai, alongside institutional investors competing for exposure to one of the fastest-growing segments of global sports investing.
The sale is being run by United Spirits Limited, a subsidiary of Diageo plc, which initiated a strategic review of non-core assets in late 2025 and subsequently decided to divest its stake in Royal Challengers Sports Private Limited, which owns both the men’s Royal Challengers Bengaluru franchise in the Indian Premier League and its women’s team in the Women’s Premier League.
