Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), winner of IPL 2025, have been put on sale. The franchise is currently owned by Diageo, which is primarily a beverage company.
Some names for new potential owners have surfaced of late, however, top Indian billionaire, Adar Poonawalla (CEO of Serum Institute of India) is reportedly the front runner at the moment.
RCB is one of the original Indian Premier League franchises, and in fact, was even featured in the IPL’s inaugural fixture in 2008. They enjoy a huge fanbase, a lot of it thanks to Indian cricket icon, Virat Kohli’s presence, and won their maiden title in the latest edition.
Why Has RCB Gone Up For Sale?
While there is not a single clear reason as to why Diageo has put RCB up for sale, the beverage giant is apparently looking to streamline its operations by prioritising its core alcohol business while moving away from non-core sports investments.
The owner even expects to wrap up the process (the sale of RCB) by the end of March 2026, March 31 to be precise, which might be pretty close to when the next IPL season kicks off.
It is worth noting that while Adar Poonawalla is being suggested as the front-runner as of this writing, some other parties such as the Adani Group, and JSW (who already are co-owners of the Delhi Capitals in IPL) are also believed to be interested in the franchise’s ownership.
RCB’s IPL Legacy
As already mentioned, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru are one of the original IPL teams. They played Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the first-ever match of this league at home.
RCB has made it to the final on four occasions, 2009, 2011, 2016 and 2025, only winning the title in their latest attempt.
This franchise has also been Virat Kohli’s home in the IPL right from the beginning, and, over the years, have boasted other big international stars like AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle too.
