Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have received another lucrative bid in their search for a new owner ahead of the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2026). Diageo, the company that has owned the franchise for years, has decided to sell it, and many groups have shown interest.
While RCB have attracted multiple interests, Manchester United co-owner Avram Glazer made headlines with a reported bid of $1.8 Billion. However, it is now understood that another firm is ready to pay more to acquire the ownership of the IPL franchise. Swedish equity firm EQT are preparing a prospective bid and has emerged as the frontrunner.
A source privy to the development confirmed the news and said to State of Play,
“They have the internal approval and mandate to go all out, and bid $200-300 million more than the current range, if that is what it takes to close the deal.”
Some of the other renowned parties that have shown interest in purchasing RCB are Adar Poonawala of Serum Institute, Parth Jindal of JSW Steel, the Adani Group, Ranjan Pai of Manipal group amongst others.
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After the fiasco last season which led to the death of 11 people during the victory celebrations, Chinnaswamy was restricted from hosting competitive matches which raised questions regarding RCB’s home in IPL 2026. However, the Karnataka government has now given the clearance to the Karnataka State Cricket Association and RCB to play home games at Chinnaswamy, subject to a final inspection scheduled for March 13.
It is also understood that RCB will play a total of five games at Chinnaswamy. The other two home games will be played at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Stadium in Raipur.
In the first phase of the IPL 2026 schedule that has been revealed, RCB have two games in Bengaluru – the opening game of the season against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on March 28 followed by a high-octane Southern derby against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on April 5.
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