Manchester United Owner Pulls Out, RCB Sale Heads into Final Showdown

The number of contenders has decreased to two. Lancer Capital which Avram Glazer co-owns and co-chairs decided to drop its attempt to acquire Royal Challengers Bengaluru. The Swedish investment firm EQT competes against Ranjan Pai's consortium which receives support from Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Temasek.

 

Lancer Capital had already pulled out of the Rajasthan Royals deal because the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) does not allow a single entity to own more than one Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise. The State of Play states that the company did not make its final bid after getting shortlisted.

 

Lancer Capital planned to bid between $1 billion and $1.8 billion which equals approximately INR 9,236 to INR 16,616 crore according to earlier reports. The final bidding stage saw them withdraw from the process. The race has now turned into a two-way battle.

 

 

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EQT currently holds the lead position in the competition. According to reports, the company has submitted a binding offer that ranges between $2 billion and $2.1 billion which translates to INR 18,463 crore and INR 19,386 crore. The exact offer from Ranjan Pai’s consortium remains unclear, but it is expected to be close to EQT’s bid.

 

Ownership transfers usually take about 30 to 45 days for completion. The current RCB owners Diageo want to expedite the ownership transfer process. The company has established March 31 as their discussion deadline which restricts time for EQT and Ranjan Pai’s group to negotiate.

 

The deal cannot proceed to closure until BCCI grants its authorization. The board will most likely provide this authorization after the Annual General Meeting (AGM) which takes place in October 2026. The AGM for last year occurred on September 28 in Mumbai.