RCB sold to Aditya Birla Group consortium in Rs 16,660 crore deal

A consortium led by Aditya Birla Group and Times Internet Limited has acquired Royal Challengers Bengaluru from United Spirits Ltd for Rs 16,660 crore, marking one of the biggest franchise deals in IPL history, subject to regulatory approvals

Mumbai: A consortium led by Aditya Birla Group and Times Internet Limited has acquired the defending Indian Premier League (IPL) and Women’s Premier League champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) for Rs 16,660 crore, the owners of the franchise informed regulatory bodies on Tuesday.

United Spirits Ltd, the owner of the franchise, made this disclosure in mandatory regulatory filings with the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange of India on Tuesday.

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Bolt Ventures (Bolt) and Blackstone’s perpetual private equity strategy (BXPE, Blackstone) are the other members of the consortium that have jointly bought Royal Challengers Bengaluru, one of the eight original franchises of the IPL that was formed ahead of the inaugural edition in 2008.

The decision to sell off its 100 per cent equity stake in Royal Challengers Sports Private Limited was approved by the board of United Spirits Limited, owned by Diageo India, a subsidiary of the UK-based Diageo plc. The decision was taken by its board in a meeting on Tuesday.

“We wish to inform you that the board of directors of United Spirits Limited at its meeting held today, i.e., March 24, 2026, has inter alia approved the sale of 14,690 equity shares of Royal Challengers Sports Private Limited (“RCSPL”), a wholly owned subsidiary of USL, for an aggregate consideration of Rs 166.6 bn, subject to adjustments and other conditions set out in the Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) dated March 24, 2026 executed by and amongst USL, RCSPL, and Bolt IPL Holdings LLC; Aelius Investments Pte Ltd; Asia Investment Topco II Pte Ltd; Times Internet Limited; and Metropolitan Media Company Limited (the “Proposed Transaction” and such parties, the “Parties”),” the company said in its statement to the regulatory bodies.

“Upon completion of the Proposed Transaction in accordance with the SPA (which is subject to customary conditions including the receipt of all requisite approvals as required to give effect to the Proposed Transaction, including from the Competition Commission of India and the Board of Control for Cricket in India), USL will cease to hold any shareholding in RCSPL and consequently RCSPL will cease to be a subsidiary of USL,” the company said.

According to reports, under the new ownership structure, Aryaman Vikram Birla, Director at the Aditya Birla Group, will serve as Chairman, while Satyan Gajwani of Times Internet Limited will take on the role of Vice Chairman. The consortium also includes David Blitzer, founder of Bolt Ventures, and Viral Patel, CEO of BXPE.

Diageo plc had put RCB on the block as per a decision taken by its board in November 2025, with many suitors expressing interest in taking over the franchise. These included Adar Poonawalla of Serum Institute of India. But in the end, the company entered into a one-to-one negotiation, which eventually resulted in it accepting the offer by this consortium.

RCB is the first and only franchise to hold the IPL and WPL titles at the same time. RCB men won their maiden IPL title in 2025, while the women followed suit to win their second WPL title in February 2026.

The RCB franchise was won in the original team auction by United Spirits Limited, then controlled by erstwhile liquor baron Vijay Mallya. Diageo plc acquired the RCB franchise when it took over United Spirits from Mallya.