Sanjiv Goenka-led RP-SG group has joined the bandwagon of Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise owners looking to monetise their cricket teams, with plans to sell a minority stake in Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), sources told Moneycontrol. Goenka is exploring a sale of up to 15 percent, they said.
To be sure, the final decision on the monetisation of the stake will depend on the valuation offered by investors and is likely the group may not go ahead if the offers are not attractive enough, sources said.
An email sent to RP-SG Group did not elicit a response.
Goenka’s move comes as investors rush to to acquire franchises such as Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Rajasthan Royals .
Moneycontrol reported on March 6 that the Aditya Birla Group has teamed up with a group led by American sports investor David Blitzer to form a consortium and submit a joint binding bid for the ongoing sale of a majority stake in Rajasthan Royals.
The proposed transaction involves the sale of a majority stake currently held by entrepreneur Manoj Badale at a valuation of around $1 to $1.2 billion. Moneycontrol first reported the stake sale plan on December 8.
The sale of Royal Challengers Bengaluru by Diageo has drawn the interest of several bidders including billionaire Adar Poonawala of the Serum group, Manipal Group Chairman Dr Ranjan Pai, Swedish private equity firm EQT and Manchester United co-owner Avram Glazer backed Lancer Capital LLC, Moneycontrol reported on February 16.
The IPL has emerged as one of the highest valued sports leagues in the world, behind only the National Football League (NFL) of the US. IPL’s 2023-2027 media rights were auctioned for $6.2 billion.
Lucknow Super Giants financials
The RP-SG group acquired the Lucknow franchise for Rs 7,090 crore in November 2021. The franchise is held through RPSG Sports Private Limited.
According to CareEdge Ratings, for H1 FY26, RSPL received Rs 399 crore from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as franchise rights, while in FY25, it generated Rs 458 crore. This is the biggest source of revenue for IPL franchises.
In H1 FY26, the IPL franchise reported a revenue of Rs 495.9 crore and a profit of Rs 63.7 crore.
The report said FY25 moderated by 20 percent to Rs 557 crore, mainly due to lower number of matches played in the year, and lower ranking of LSG in IPL season 2024, compared to 2023.
Accordingly, profitability also moderated. In H1FY26, the company’s revenue grew slightly (about 3 percent) over H1 FY25.
RP-SG group has to make annual franchise fee payment of Rs 709 crore till FY31.
“For FY26, the payment is expected to be made from a mix of term debt, enhancement in working capital facilities and internal generations/fund support from promoters. The company’s capital structure is leveraged with overall gearing ratio of 16x as on March 31, 2025. Total outside liabilities to total net worth is even higher at 41x as on March 31, 2025, due to high franchise fee payable to BCCI,” CareEdge said.
Given that the fee exceeds expected cash flows, RPSG Sports will continue to rely on promoter support and external debt in the medium term, the rating agency said. CareEdge Ratings expects leverage to remain high and debt coverage indicators weak till FY31 due to recurring franchise fee obligations.
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