Indian Premier League side Royal Challengers Bengaluru was acquired by a consortium featuring Aditya Birla Group (ABG) and The Times of India Group in a transaction that amounted to Rs. 16,706 crore.

The consortium, which also features Bolt Ventures (Bolt) and Blackstone’s perpetual private equity strategy (BXPE, Blackstone), confirmed through an official statement that it has signed a deal with United Spirits Limited (USL) to secure 100 per cent stake in a RCB.

The deal includes both the men’s and women’s teams, who are respectively the reigning IPL and WPL champions.

Under the new ownership structure, Aryaman Vikram 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.

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The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including approval from the BCCI, the Competition Commission of India, and other applicable regulatory authorities, confirmed the consortium through the statement.

Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman, Aditya Birla Group expressed his delight in taking over the RCB franchise.

“Over the past 2 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,” said Kumar Mangalam Birla.

RCB will begin its IPL 2026 campaign with a home match against Sunrisers Hyderabad on March 28.

Earlier today, a consortium led by US-based entrepreneur Kal Somani had won the bid to acquire the Rajasthan Royals franchise for Rs 15,300 crore.

Published on Mar 24, 2026