Royal Challengers Bengaluru sold for Rs 16,706 crore to Aditya Birla Group-led consortium

Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) has been jointly sold to Aditya Birla Group (ABG), The Times of India Group (TOI), Bolt Ventures (Bolt), and Blackstone's perpetual private equity strategy (BXPE, Blackstone). As a result, RCB became the second franchise set to have new owners after the completion of the upcoming IPL 2026, along with Rajasthan Royals.

The four-group consortium has signed a definitive agreement with United Spirits Limited (USL), a subsidiary of UK-based Diageo plc, to acquire a 100 per cent stake in RCB for a whopping Rs 16,706 crore (approximately USD 1.78 billion). The deal covers RCB’s both men's and women's teams at the IPL and Women’s Premier League (WPL), respectively.

Under the new ownership structure, Aryaman Vikram Birla, Director, Aditya Birla Group, will serve as Chairman and Satyan Gajwani of The Times of India Group will serve as Vice Chairman of the franchise, according to a media release. The acquiring consortium also includes David Blitzer, founder of Bolt Ventures, and Viral Patel, CEO of BXPE.

"Over the past two decades, the IPL has morphed to become a global sporting powerhouse that has changed the face of Indian cricket, creating enormous value for India. RCB, as one of the most compelling franchises in modern sport, offers the Aditya Birla Group a distinctive platform to extend its legacy of institution-building into the arena of global sport. We are delighted to become custodians of this asset and committed to further building this extraordinary legacy," Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman, Aditya Birla Group, said in a statement.

The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including approval from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the Competition Commission of India, and other applicable regulatory authorities.

Diageo faced pressure to sell RCB

RCB remains one of the eight original franchises part of the IPL since its maiden season in 2008. It was bought by Vijay Mallya, then chairman of USL, for USD 111.6 million. However, the control was later passed to UK-based Diageo, which took over USL and RCB in 2016 after Mallya's controversial exit from India.

The company came under pressure to divest the IPL team, following the tragic stampede incident outside the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, during RCB's victory celebrations in 2025, where 11 fans lost their lives, and several others were injured, as cricket is not its core business. As a result, Diageo decided to sell the franchise in the aftermath of the incident.