The Rajasthan Royals sale: Why sellers are watching RCB closely
The RCB and RR sales are now entangled, with overlapping bidders, shifting timelines, as the Royals consider waiting for Diageo to set RCB’s price.
The Rajasthan Royals’ (RR) billion-dollar sale has slowed. The sellers may wait to see what happens with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) first.
Multiple sources have told The State of Play that the RR’s Round 2 bidding process, originally scheduled for around March 10, may be delayed as Manoj Badale’s Emerging Media weighs whether to wait until the RCB transaction concludes.
“They want to make it as close to RCB as possible, so that people can’t think they have a backup option, and give maximum offers to RR, which in turn reduces elasticity,” said a person aware of the process.
Azim Premji, prominently listed as a key India-based investor in Kal Somani’s $1.3 billion bid consortium, never formally committed to the deal, according to two sources familiar with the matter. Premji Invest declined to comment.
The sales of two founding Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises now share several bidders, with the outcome of one likely to influence the pricing and timing of the other.
The RCB process has moved to the next round. What began as a list of eight or nine parties two weeks ago has narrowed, with due diligence underway. “Essentially, the list will come down to a handful of 4-6 bidders,” said a person aware of the RCB sale. Several are still speaking with private equity firms as they consider binding bids.
At least three people familiar with the process say the shortlist now includes Lancer Capital (Avram Glazer), Adar Poonawalla (backed by TPG), Ranjan Pai (backed by KKR and Temasek), EQT Private Capital, the Times of India Group, and Capri Global.
At least one bidder for both RCB and RR, believed to be Washington Freedom owner Sanjay Govil, has dropped out, according to two sources. The sources said he was unhappy with how the sales were conducted. Govil did not respond to The State of Play’s query at the time of publication.
Diageo has set a March 31 deadline for its strategic review of RCB. Rajasthan Royals, which is private held, has no equivalent deadline.
