New Delhi, Jan. 22 -- Blackstone Inc. and Temasek Holdings Pte are among the early bidders for control of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), two people familiar with the matter said.

Diageo, which owns RCB's parent United Spirits Ltd (USL), had begun the sale process of the IPL champion franchise in November. The private equity (PE) heavyweights have submitted non-binding bids, the people cited above said on the condition of anonymity.

Global buyout firms including Advent International, PAG, and Carlyle Group are also evaluating bids for RCB, the people said.

A transaction could value RCB between $1.4 billion and $1.8 billion, the people said on the condition of anonymity. Until now, the bidding interest around IPL franchises was large...