Shamik Chakrabarty, Mumbai
Are Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) up for sale? In a communication to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Wednesday, Diageo — the owner of the franchise that has teams in the IPL and WPL — called it a ‘Strategic Review of the Investment Royal Challengers Sports Pvt Ltd (RCSPL)’. It didn’t use the word ‘sale’. But the buzz in the market is that come the next financial year, RCB will have a new owner/owners. According to reports, Diageo might ask for a valuation of around $2 billion.
“RCSPL’s business comprises ownership of the “Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)” franchise teams that participate in the Men’s Indian Premier League (IPL) and Women’s Premier League (WPL) cricket tournaments hosted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) annually,” the company stated in its disclosure to the BSE, adding that it expects that the “the process will conclude by March 31st, 2026”.
The disclosure also added a comment from Praveen Someshwar, Managing Director & CEO, United Spirits Ltd, which said: “RCSPL has been a valuable and strategic asset for USL, however it’s non-core to our alcobev business. This step reinforces USL’s & Diageo’s commitment to continue reviewing its India enterprise portfolio to enable sustained delivery of long-term value to all its stakeholders, while keeping RCSPL’s best interest in mind.”
RCB are the reigning IPL champions, while they annexed the WPL title in 2024. Their victory parade following their maiden IPL triumph in June, however, turned tragic, with 11 lives lost and more than 50 people injured.
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