LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka wins bid for Manchester Originals, beats this IPL franchise to Race

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The chairman of RPSG group Sanjiv Goenka, who owns the IPL franchise Lucknow Super Giants, has spread the wings to The Hundred by winning the bid for the Manchester Originals franchise.

With this, the Kolkata-based businessman now adds his 3rd cricket franchise team across the globe.

Goenka secured the team through an e-auction, overcoming stiff competition from multiple contenders, including an IPL franchise. The acquisition, reportedly valued at £107 million, is nearly half of the £195 million enterprise valuation of London Spirit, which was recently sold to a consortium of US-based tech billionaires.

Interestingly, Goenka had initially pursued ownership of the Lord's-based London Spirit before shifting his focus to Manchester Originals.

While the identities of all competing bidders remain undisclosed, speculation suggested that the Glazer family, associated with Manchester United, and CVC Capital might have been involved.

It has been reported by Cricbuzz that an IPL team was in the race along with a tech consortium, but Goenka managed to outbid both organizations to claim his stake.

Although the specific IPL franchise competing against Goenka remains uncertain, strong speculation points toward the Knight Riders group, owned by Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, as the competitor.

The Knight Riders already have three teams across the T20 leagues - Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL, Trinbago Knight Riders in the CPL and Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in the UAE-based ILT20.

Manchester Originals, led by England's hard-hitting batter Phil Salt, now becomes part of Goenka's growing portfolio of cricket franchises, marking his latest expansion into the global T20 and short-format leagues.