Sun TV, RPSG Ventures shares surge up to 18% after RCB and Rajasthan Royals IPL team sales at record value

Sun TV Network, which owns and operates the IPL team Sunrisers Hyderabad saw strong buying interest today. Sun TV Network shares rose over 5% in opening trades after back-to-back sale of two IPL teams at a skyrocketing valuation.

United Spirits announced the sale of its wholly-owned subsidiary Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) for over ₹16,600 crore ($1.78 billion) to a consortium of buyers led by Aditya Birla Group (ABG), along with The Times of India Group (ToI), US-based Bolt Ventures and Blackstone Inc. United Spirits shares are trading marginally lower at ₹1,315 apiece on NSE, down 0.9%.

Another IPL team Rajasthan Royals (RR) was sold at ₹15,286 crore ($1.63 billion) to a consortium led by US-based entrepreneur Kal Somani, Walmart family, and the Hamp family. Both IPL teams were sold for a combined sum of over ₹31,500 crore, indicating the high valuation of one of the biggest cricket leagues.

The combined business valuation of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is estimated to be around $18.5 billion as of July 2025, as per investment bank firm Houlihan Lokey.

These high-value sales of two IPL teams have put few stocks in the spotlight that directly or indirectly own an IPL team. Sun TV Network shares are trading 1.5% higher as of 10 am, with a market cap of around ₹24,669 crore. The IPL team sale of RR and RCB at around ₹16,000 crore represents around 65% of Sun TV's market cap.

Shares of RPSG Ventures rose 18.5% intraday, which owns the Lucknow Supergiants IPL team through its parent company, RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, through RPSG Sports Private Limited. RPSG Ventures market cap is around ₹2,346 crore. India Cements shares also rose nearly 4% intraday with a market cap of around ₹11,295 crore. India Cements previously owned the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) from 2008, but in 2015, the franchise was demerged into a separate entity, Chennai Super Kings Cricket Ltd (CSKCL).