Aditya Birla & TOI Groups, Bolt Ventures and Blackstone acquire RCB for $1.8bn

MUMBAI: Aditya Birla Group, The Times of India Group, Bolt Ventures, and Blackstone person signed a definitive statement to get 100% of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), existent holders of some the Indian Premier League and Women's Premier League titles, from United Spirits Ltd (USL), a subsidiary of Diageo Plc.

The transaction has valued the franchise astatine US$1.78 cardinal (about Rs 16,600 crore).The acquisition is taxable to customary closing conditions, including support from BCCI, the IPL governing council, and different authorities.Under the caller ownership structure, which volition travel into spot aft IPL 2026, Aryaman Vikram Birla, manager astatine Aditya Birla Group, volition service arsenic RCB president portion Satyan Gajwani of The Times of India Group volition beryllium vice-chairman.

Birla played for Madhya Pradesh and was besides portion of the Rajasthan Royals squad.In 2008, erstwhile BCCI floated IPL, United Spirits had submitted a winning bid of $111.6 cardinal (approx Rs 485 crore) to get the franchise. In 2023, RCB paid Rs 901 crore to get the WPL team. In 2024, RCB won the WPL and followed it up with their first-ever IPL rubric triumph successful 2025, becoming the archetypal franchise to simultaneously clasp some titles.

The woody makes RCB the astir costly IPL franchise sold truthful far. Adar Poonawalla, Ranjan Pai of Manipal Hospitals, backstage equity firms EQT, TPG and Temasek, and the Glazer family, which owns Manchester United, were among different funny bidders.