The Glazer family, who control Manchester United football club, is said to be interested in the two new IPL franchises and has picked up the ITT (Invitation to Tender) that BCCI issued through a private equity firm. The tender documents were due on the 20th of October, and a number of other companies, including Adani Group, Torrent Pharma, Aurobindo Pharma, RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, Hindustan Times Media, Jindal Steel (led by Naveen Jindal), entrepreneur Ronnie Screwvala, and three private equity players, had expressed interest.
The Indian cricket board’s ITT has a number of stringent provisions. For example, you can only bid if you have a personal net worth of Rs 2,500 crore and an average turnover of Rs 3,000 crore. After several potential bidders requested that the valuation be reduced in order for them to be eligible to bid, BCCI had to modify these terms.
You can also buy the ITT or submit a bid with one condition: if you win, you must establish a firm in India. There is yet no assurance that the Glazers will bid. “As a result, foreign investors are technically able to submit an offer if they fulfil these criteria. We don’t know if Man United’s owners will participate in the bidding process. “What we do know is that they’ve expressed interest,” according to a Times Of India article citing sources.