Kamal Ghorui
MUMBAI: Aditya Birla Group, The Times of India Group, Bolt Ventures, and Blackstone have signed a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), current holders of both the Indian Premier League and Women’s Premier League titles, from United Spirits Ltd (USL), a subsidiary of Diageo Plc. The transaction has valued the franchise at US$1.78 billion (about Rs 16,600 crore).The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including approval from BCCI, the IPL governing council, and other authorities.Under the new ownership structure, which will come into place after IPL 2026, Aryaman Vikram Birla, director at Aditya Birla Group, will serve as RCB chairman while Satyan Gajwani of The Times of India Group will be vice-chairman. Birla played for Madhya Pradesh and was also part of the Rajasthan Royals squad.In 2008, when BCCI floated IPL, United Spirits had submitted a winning bid of $111.6 million (approx Rs 485 crore) to acquire the franchise. In 2023, RCB paid Rs 901 crore to acquire the WPL team. In 2024, RCB won the WPL and followed it up with their first-ever IPL title win in 2025, becoming the first franchise to simultaneously hold both titles. The deal makes RCB the most expensive IPL franchise sold so far. Adar Poonawalla, Ranjan Pai of Manipal Hospitals, private equity firms EQT, TPG and Temasek, and the Glazer family, which owns Manchester United, were among other interested bidders.
