Just ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, there has been a major change in the ownership of Royal Challengers Bangalore. On Tuesday, March 24, a large consortium led by Aditya Birla Group has bought this Bengaluru franchise for a huge amount of $ 1.78 billion.

After RCB won the IPL for the first time last year, Diageo's Indian company United Spirits had announced the sale of the franchise. He had initiated a review of his investment in Royal Challengers Sports Pvt Ltd, indicating that he may exit the team in whole or in part.

RCB was initially owned by Vijay Mallya, who purchased this franchise through United Spirits in the first season of IPL in 2008. Later, when Diageo purchased United Spirits, ownership also passed to them. Royal Challengers Bangalore (previously Royal Challengers Bangalore) has become one of the most valuable and popular teams in IPL history. It has millions of fans all over the world and it also won its first title in 2025.

Change in ownership of RCB

As they prepare to defend the IPL title, Royal Challengers Bangalore have now moved into a new ownership era. After more than a decade under Diageo's control, a long chapter in the franchise's history has come to an end. The process of selling the team began in November 2025, when United Spirits decided to review its stake in Royal Challengers Pvt. Ltd.

After several months of negotiations and a competition between several global investors, a consortium of Aditya Birla Group, Blackstone, The Times of India Group and Bolt Ventures won and acquired the ownership of Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Aditya Birla Group first entered the bidding process along with American investor David Blitzer. Later, he also joined hands with Times of India (TOI) Group and Blackstone to buy the Bengaluru franchise to strengthen his position. This consortium defeated other groups and sealed this historic deal for RCB.

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The Aditya Birla Group consortium was facing competition from a group led by Ranjan Pai, which was backed by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Temasek. Besides, another consortium comprising EQT and Premji Invest was also in the race. Because of this, the competition for the ownership rights of Royal Challengers Bangalore remained very tough.

For the first time in more than a decade, Royal Challengers Bangalore will enter the new season without Diageo's United Spirits. Now the team will start a new chapter in the management of the Aditya Birla-led consortium.

How did Birla's consortium seal the $1.78 billion deal?

Kumar Mangalam Birla-led Aditya Birla Group and American investor David Blitzer were first eyeing Rajasthan Royals, which was later bought by American entrepreneur Kal Somani for $1.63 billion. However, he later shifted his focus to Royal Challengers Bangalore as he saw more commercial opportunities and higher brand value in it.

Birla Group and Philadelphia 76ers owner David Blitzer later combined Times of India Group and Blackstone to increase their financial and strategic strength. After shifting the focus from RR to RCB, Aditya Birla's consortium made it a three-way tie with the group comprising KKR and Temasek and the consortium comprising EQT-Premji Invest.

Aryaman Kumar Birla, a former Rajasthan Royals player and director of ABG, led the bidding process. His deep understanding of the game and experience in the cricket ecosystem played a key role in formulating the consortium's acquisition strategy for Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Diageo's United Spirits wanted to sell RCB for $2 billion, but the final deal was done for $1.78 billion (Rs 16,739 crore). This is the most expensive deal for any franchise in the history of the Indian Premier League. Earlier, Rajasthan Royals was bought by American entrepreneur Kal Somani for $1.63 billion (Rs 15,332 crore). This shows how fast the value of franchises is increasing in this T20 league.

New ownership structure of RCB

The consortium of Aditya Birla Group has not only bought the men's team of Royal Challengers Bangalore but also the women's team playing in the Women's Premier League. In this way, the entire ownership of the team in both the big tournaments has now come to the same management.

Under the new ownership structure, Aryaman Birla will be the chairman of the franchise, while Times Internet chairman Satyan Gajwani will take on the role of vice chairman. The consortium's lead partners, David Blitzer and Viral Patel, will play strategic roles in shaping the future of Royal Challengers Bangalore.

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Aryaman Vikram Birla is considered an ideal choice to lead the franchise as chairman. He has played domestic cricket for Rajasthan and IPL for Rajasthan Royals. He will bring both on-field understanding and business acumen to the leadership of Royal Challengers Bangalore. At the same time, Blitzer will provide global sports experience and viral financial strength.

Meanwhile, Royal Challengers Bangalore will begin their title defense campaign in the opening match of IPL 2026 against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on March 28.