RCB’s valuation has risen by a staggering 1495 percent in 18 years | Cricket News –

Royal Challengers Bengaluru was the second most expensive franchise when BCCI sold the original eight teams in the IPL. Vijay Mallya bought the Bengaluru franchise for $111.6 million (Rs 446.40 crore; $1 = Rs 40 then) in 2008, behind the $111.90 million that Reliance Industries paid for the Mumbai Indians.“My sole purpose in buying RCB was to promote my whiskey brand, Royal Challenge; there was no love for cricket behind it,” Mallya recently said during a podcast about his decision to buy RCB.

Structurally, the team was owned by subsidiaries of United Spirits/United Spirits (often described as Royal Challengers Sports/United Spirits Sports, etc.), with Mallya’s UB Group as United Spirits’ promoter.

In 2012-2013, the Diageo Group agreed to acquire United Spirits Limited (USL). By mid-2010, Diageo had effective and then majority control of USL, and thus of the franchise, although UB Holdings retained a minority shareholding in USL for some time.Vijay Mallya eventually exited the USL board and relinquished active control of the franchise around 2016 amid legal and financial problems. This left Diageo/USL as the effective owner and operator of RCB.

In March 2024, the franchise officially changed its name from Royal Challengers Bangalore to Royal Challengers Bengaluru, in keeping with the new spelling of the city.RCB ended their IPL title drought by winning the title in 2025, the 18th edition of the T20 competition.In late 2025, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, owned by United Spirits Limited, a subsidiary of Diageo, put the franchise up for sale.Several bidders came to the negotiating table, with the consortium of Aditya Birla Group, TOI Group, Bolt Ventures and Blackstone winning thanks to the largest bid of $1.78 billion.In absolute terms, Royal Challengers Bengaluru has seen its value increase by $1.67 billion over 18 years. This represents an increase of 1,495 percent, or 16 times the original price paid by Vijay Mallya.