Adar Poonawalla In Talks To Buy RCB Franchise: Sources
Former IPL Chairman Lalit Modi on Monday fueled the speculations after he posted the news on Instagram saying that the owners have finally decided to sell it.
Billionaire Adar Poonawalla, the chief executive officer of Serum Institute of India, is in talks to buy the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) franchise, along with other bidders, sources told NDTV Profit. The negotiations are still ongoing, according to the persons privy to the development. The Bengaluru-based Indian Premier League (IPL) team seeks a one-time payment for the franchise, they added.
It should be noted that Poonawalla's interest in RCB aligns with his diversification plans.
RCB is currently owned by United Spirits Limited, a Diageo Group company. In June, Diageo Plc. was considering options for the ownership for RCB. The British distiller had reportedly held discussions with potential advisers and was seeking a valuation of as much as $2 billion, as reported by Bloomberg. United Spirits said in an exchange filing in June that reports related to potential stake sale are "speculative in nature" and "it is not pursuing any such discussions."
Former IPL Chairman Lalit Modi on Monday fueled the speculations after he posted the news on Instagram saying that the owners have finally decided to sell it. Modi wrote, "There have been a lot of rumour about the sale of an IPLT 20 franchise, specifically Royal Challengers Bengaluru - well in the past they have been denied. But it seems the owners have finally decided to take it off their balance sheet and sell it." [sic]
He wished good luck to the bidders and emphasised that there "can be no better investment opportunity than this one." Modi added, "Good luck to whoever can get their hands on it. It definitely will set a new record valuation which will just go to show that IPL is not only the fastest-growing global sporting league but also the most valuable."
One of the founding teams of the IPL, RCB was initially acquired by Vijay Mallya, owner of Kingfisher Airlines Ltd., for $111.6 million, which translated to Rs 600-700 crore back in 2008. The bid was slightly less than Reliance Industries' $111.9 million bid for the Mumbai Indians, as reported by NDTV.
After Kingfisher Airlines folded in 2012, failing to pay creditors, Diageo took over RCB after buying Mallya’s spirits business. After 13 years, Diageo is reportedly selling off the franchise and have invited bidders for the same.
On the field, RCB made their first appearance in IPL 2008. They have played finals in 2009, 2011 and 2016, and have a consistent playoff record over recent years. RCB were crowned as IPL Champions in 2025. But the celebrations were marred after 11 people died and more than 50 people were injured in a stampede on June 4.
