Royal Challengers Bengaluru's historic Indian Premier League triumph in 2025 was reportedly followed by a strategic rethink at the ownership level. Diageo, the parent company of United Spirits Ltd., put RCB up for sale in November, six months after the team secured its first-ever IPL title.
Reports claim that up to nine bids have been submitted, with State of Play naming Avram Glazer, the Manchester United co-owner, as one of the bidders via his investment vehicle, Lancer Capital. Among other notable names is Indian pharma tycoon Adar Poonawalla.
Glazer's bid stands at $1.8 billion, according to the reports.
Who Is Avram Glazer?
Avram Glazer, son of US billionaire Malcolm Glazer, holds the role of executive co-chairman and director at Manchester United. He sits on the board of Red Football Ltd. and shares the co-chairmanship of Manchester United Ltd.
Glazer also presides as chairman of the Board of Directors of Innovate Corp.
Earlier in his career, he spent more than a decade at Zapata Corporation, first as president and chief executive officer and later as chairman.
He completed his business studies at Washington University in St Louis and later obtained a law degree from American University's Washington College of Law.
Best known for his ownership roles at Manchester United and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Avram Glazer has also been quietly building a presence in cricket.
As per a report in the Mirror, he controls the Desert Vipers in the UAE's ILT20 competition via Lancer Capital and has been eyeing opportunities in India for several years.
Despite missing out on the IPL expansion franchises in 2021, which went to Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans, Glazer has renewed his push and is understood to be bidding for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru as well as the Rajasthan Royals.
According to Forbes, Avram Glazer and his five siblings agreed to sell a 25% share of their controlling stake in Manchester United to British chemicals tycoon Sir Jim Ratcliffe in 2023.
The transaction put the Premier League club's valuation at around $5.4 billion after debt. United was originally acquired by the Glazer family patriarch, shopping-centre magnate Malcolm Glazer, for $1.4 billion in 2005. The family continues to own the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a franchise bought in 1995 for $192 million and now estimated to be worth about $5.2 billion, net of debt, as per Forbes.
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