RCB Sale: Adar Poonawalla In Race To Buy IPL Team As Diageo Eye $2 Billion Valuation | Cricket News

United Spirits Limited, the company that owns Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), has put the Indian Premier League franchise up for sale. According to CNBC TV18‘s exclusive report, Adar Poonawalla, the CEO of the Serum Institute of India, is the ‘frontrunner’ to buy USL’s entire stake in the franchise.

USL is a subsidiary of Diageo, a British multinational alcoholic beverage company headquartered in London. It is seeking a valuation of a whopping $2 billion or about Rs. 17,762 crore. That would place RCB among the most valuable sporting organisations in the world. Global investment bank Citi has been appointed as the transaction advisor.

Diageo has been said to be open to a sale for some time now, with rumors peaking after the tragic stampede in Bengaluru during the team’s celebration for its first-ever IPL title, which took the lives of 11 people. However, the fact that sellers are coming up and logistics are being worked out represents progress.

Earlier this month, Praveen Someshwar, MD & CEO of Diageo India, told CNBC-TV18: “RCB is an exciting business, but it is non-core for Diageo.”

The triumph in IPL 2025 was seen as revolutionary for RCB, which was already one of the most popular and marketable teams in the world, despite never winning a trophy. Most of it was due to their ability to retain India’s biggest men’s cricket superstar, Virat Kohli, who has committed all his remaining years to the team already.

It won’t be the first big sale of an IPL team. Torrent Group recently signed a definitive agreement to acquire a 67% majority stake in Gujarat Titans (GT) from Irelia Company Pte Ltd, an entity fully owned by funds advised by CVC Capital. That deal valued GT, only a four-year-old franchise with a limited fanbase in comparison to RCB, at around ₹7,500 crore.

Earlier in the day, former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi had fanned rumors about a possible sale.

“There have been a lot of rumours about the sale of an IPL franchise. Well in the past, they have been denied. But it seems the owners have finally decided to take it off their balance sheet and sell it. I am sure having won the IPL last season and with its strong base of fans and great management, it could be the only team available as a whole. One of the big global funds or sovereign funds would desperately like to have them as part of their India strategy. This will definitely set a new record valuation and become the floor price for all IPL teams. I am sure Citi will do a great job auctioning the team.”