A consortium led by Aditya Birla Group and the Times of India Group has said that it will acquire Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), ending a weeks-long bidding war. The consortium, which includes Indian billionaire Kumar Mangalam Birla's Aditya Birla Group, Times of India Group, American billionaire David Blitzer's Bolt Ventures and US-based Blackstone investment, will reportedly pay $1.78 billion in an all-cash transaction for the defending IPL champions.
For seller Diageo’s United Spirits Limited (USL), the transaction represents an almost 16 times appreciation over the 2008 bid value.
Under the new ownership structure, Aryaman Birla, director, Aditya Birla Group, will serve as chairman and Satyan Gajwani of The Times of India Group will serve as vice-chairman of the franchise.
“Over the past two decades, the IPL has morphed to become a global sporting powerhouse that has changed the face of Indian cricket creating enormous value for India. RCB, as one of the most compelling franchises in modern sport, offers the Aditya Birla Group a distinctive platform to extend its legacy of institution-building into the arena of global sport. We are delighted to become custodians of this asset and committed to further building this extraordinary legacy,” Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman, Aditya Birla Group, said in a statement.
“RCB is the reigning champion and the most popular brand in the IPL. As The Times of India Group, together with our partners, we will build RCB into a global sporting institution, while remaining rooted in Bengaluru and Karnataka and its incredible fanbase. We are committed to the people who built this championship-winning culture - the players, coaches, the leadership team, and the fans. We look forward to supporting the team as they take the pitch on Saturday to defend RCB's title,” Gajwani added.
On March 6, Moneycontrol had reported that the Birla Group and Blitzer combine had pivoted from Rajasthan Royals and joined hands to pursue a buyout of Royal Challengers Bengaluru instead.
In a separate deal, the Rajasthan Royals has been acquired by US-based Kal Somani-led consortium for $1.63 billion, a nearly 25x jump from a $67-million valuation in 2008. The Somani-led consortium includes Rob Walton from the Walmart family and the Hamp family of Ford Motor, both of whom own franchises in the NFL.
According to The Economic Times, RCB is valued more than twice the benchmark set last year when Torrent Group acquired the Gujarat Titans at a $900 million valuation. It attributed the sharp increase to growing fan engagement and the advertising pull of India’s most watched cricket tournament.
In 2025, IPL team sponsorship alone crossed the INR 1,000 cr threshold -- a powerful endorsement of IPL’s franchise-led economic model.
