IPL: Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) team sold for 56027 Crores

A consortium comprising Aditya Birla Group (ABG), Times of India Group (ToI), Bolt Ventures, and Blackstone has successfully acquired full ownership of the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) team through a massive deal worth USD 1.78 billion (approximately LKR 56,027 crores). According to this agreement signed with United Spirits Limited (USL), a subsidiary of UK-based Diageo company, both the RCB men's and women's teams, representing the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Women's Premier League (WPL) tournaments respectively, will come under complete new ownership.

Under this new ownership structure, Aryaman Vikram Birla, Director of Aditya Birla Group, has been appointed as the Chairman of the team, while Satyan Gajwani of Times of India Group will serve as its Vice Chairman. David Blitzer, founder of Bolt Ventures, and Viral Patel, CEO of Blackstone, are also included in this consortium. A&W Capital, Moelis, and Khaitan & Co acted as legal and financial advisors for the buyers' side in this transaction, while Citi India and AZB Partners provided advisory services for the selling party.

The official approval of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the Competition Commission of India, and other relevant regulatory authorities is still required for the completion of this acquisition. The tragedy that occurred on June 4th, during the victory celebrations after the team won its maiden IPL championship in 2025, where 11 spectators died and others were injured due to unfortunate overcrowding, has significantly influenced this sale. As cricket is not its primary business objective, Diageo faced intense pressure to sell the team following that incident, and accordingly, they took steps to finalize the sale process before March 31st.

Commenting on this historic deal, Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman of Aditya Birla Group, stated that this is a unique opportunity for his company to make its mark in the global sports arena. As RCB is the current IPL champions and the most popular brand, the new owners, as a consortium, aim to further protect its connection with the city of Bangalore and its vast fan base, while building it into a global sports institution, as indicated by the relevant representatives.

Initially purchased by Vijay Mallya for USD 111.6 million, control of this team passed to Diageo in 2016 after he left India. Praveen Someshwar, CEO of United Spirits, states that this sale will allow his company to better focus on its core alcoholic beverage business, and he believes that this globally recognized brand will achieve continuous growth under the new ownership.