Aditya Birla Group, TOI Group, Bolt Ventures and Blackstone acquire RCB for $1.78 billion | Cricket News –

Mumbai: Aditya Birla Group, The Times Of India Group, Bolt Ventures and Blackstone have signed a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) franchise which will include both men’s and women’s teams.The Indian Premier League (IPL) and Women’s Super League (WPL) franchises were acquired from United Spirits Limited (USL), a subsidiary of Diageo plc. The deal valued the franchise at US$1.78 billion (about INR 16,600 crore).

The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including approval by BCCI, the IPL Board of Directors and other authorities.The franchise, under the new ownership structure after the 2026 release, will see Aryaman Vikram Birla, Director, Aditya Birla Group, serve as Chairman while Satyan Gagwani of Times Of India Group will be Vice Chairman.

“Over the past two decades, the Indian Premier League has transformed into a global sporting powerhouse that has changed the face of Indian cricket creating immense value for India. RCB, as one of the most compelling franchises in modern sports, offers the Aditya Birla Group a distinctive platform to expand its legacy of institution building into the global sporting arena. We are delighted to become custodians of this asset and are committed to continuing to build this exceptional legacy,” said Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman, Aditya Birla Group.

Gagwani of Times Internet Limited said in a media note, “RCB is the reigning champion and most loved brand in the IPL. As The Times Of India Group, along with our partners, we will build RCB into a world-class sports enterprise, while remaining rooted in Bengaluru, Karnataka and their incredible fan base. We are committed to the people who have built this championship-winning culture – the players, coaches, leadership team and fans.”

We look forward to supporting the team as they take to the field on Saturday to defend their RCB title.

Adar Poonawalla of the Serum Institute of India, Ranjan Pai of Manipal Hospitals, private equity firms EQT, TPG, Temasek and the Glazer family, which owns Manchester United, were among other interested bidders when Diageo Plc first began the process of selling RCB.In 2008, when BCCI floated the IPL, United Spirits made a winning bid of US$111.6 million (about Rs 485 crore) for the Bangalore franchise.

In 2023, RCB management paid another Rs 901 crore to acquire the WPL team. In 2024, RCB won the WPL title and followed it up with their first ever IPL title win in 2025.The franchise has featured some of the greatest T20 icons including Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers, Shane Watson, Anil Kumble, Glenn Maxwell, Yuvraj Singh, Faf du Plessis and others.

In 2013, after Kohli took over as captain of the Indian Premier League, the franchise’s popularity skyrocketed from being just one of the eight teams to becoming one of the most popular and sought-after properties in the tournament.Kohli’s rise as Team India’s captain and cricket’s most trusted brand has coincided with RCB’s rise as one of the most followed IPL teams. Despite not winning the title in 17 years, the franchise has gained a huge following among fans in Karnataka and across the country and social media.As of 2026, RCB remains at the top in terms of its social media reach and overall popularity across broadcast media.In 2025, Brand Finance listed RCB as the second most valuable IPL brand after Mumbai Indians and among the top three most valuable IPL brands alongside Mumbai and Chennai. In the same year, global investment bank Houlihan Lokey also listed RCB as a leading brand for IPL.