New Delhi, Jan. 22 -- Blackstone Inc. and Temasek Holdings Pte are among the early aspirants for reigning Indian Premier League (IPL) champions 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 team in November. The private equity (PE) heavyweights are evaluating non-binding bids for the stake, 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 inte...