RCB Sold for $1.78 Billion: Full Story Behind IPL’s Biggest Franchise Deal

RCB sold for $1.78 billion (INS 16660 Crore) in a record IPL deal. Discover the full story behind the franchise’s rise, ownership history, valuation growth, and what makes it a billion-dollar brand.

RCB Sold for $1.78 Billion (Image Source: Google)

Just before the start of the IPL 2026, the takeover of two Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises was top news on the sports as well as business and economy pages. Let us talk about Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) for the time being.

A consortium led by David Blitzer acquired RCB for $ 1.78 billion (INR 16,660 crore). His Bolt Ventures are joined by private equity firm Blackstone, the Aditya Birla Group, and The Times of India Group in the new ownership group, and they take over from previous owners Diageo, who had acquired RCB from United Spirits between 2012 and 2014.

RBC is one of the most popular IPL sides, although they have won only one title, that too, in 2025, but have a vast fan base. This inspired the consortium to enter into a record transaction for a team playing in a single T20 cricket competition.

Since its launch in 2008, the IPL has transformed not into just the most lucrative competition in world cricket but one of the most valuable properties in world sport. The amount now paid is almost double the amount paid for the Lucknow Supergiants in 2021, the last franchise sold by BCCI.

This all raises a very interesting question: how was RCB created and acquired from BCCI originally and at what cost? Whosoever is reported as the owner of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on paper, now or in future, they shall always be known as Vijay Mallya’s team. The name ‘Royal Challengers’ belonged to him and now, while he is no longer associated with this franchise, RCB has become such a big brand that new owners have also decided to go with it and the team will remain RCB.
 

You will be surprised to note that when in 2008 BCCI was in the process of selling the franchise for the IPL, the Bengaluru (as the city is known now) franchise was not the first choice for Vijay Mallya’s United Breweries Group. They had bid for 7 out of 11 cities on offer and this included Mumbai, Bengaluru and Delhi, each priced at $111.6 million. He was not interested in Kanpur, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, and Cuttack and ultimately out of these four, only Jaipur emerged as a choice to form a team.

The Mumbai franchise was his first choice, but in the auction held on January 24, 2008, to sell the eight franchises to kick-start the IPL, they lost the same to Reliance. Another surprise: his bid was lower to Reliance by only $0.3 million (approx. Rs 1.2 crore at that time), as if an auction scene from the Hindi film Trishul was being witnessed in the BCCI auction. Reliance took away the Mumbai franchise through a bid of $111.9 million.

Now Vijay Mallya’s UB Group was the front-runner for the Bengaluru as well as the Delhi franchise in the IPL. They opted for Bengaluru, in view of Vijay Mallya’s connection with the city. So a $111.6 million franchise is now acquired for $1.78 billion, i.e. 1595 times more value.

The United Spirits Limited (USL) started disinvestment around 2012 and by 2014, Diageo India had become a major shareholder of the Co. and simultaneously got the subsidiary Royal Challengers Sports Private Limited, which had RCB. Since then, the brand value of RCB has seen significant upward movement, further added by the addition of the Women’s Premier League (WIL) franchise for the city.

Now the whole package is sold for $1.78 billion (approx. Rs 16,660 core). At present, it has become the biggest sports entity in India by valuation. Although the Mumbai franchise is being valued at $2.4 billion, this value is not tested in the market.

After the RCB won its maiden title, in June 2025, it was projected that it would catapult the team’s brand value past $140 million. People often miss that RCB is not just a cricket team. They’re a brand, a lifestyle. While most teams show up for two months and then disappear, RCB stays in the spotlight year-round : Jersey, Mech, RCB Bar & Café, RCB Innovation Lab to push India’s sports tech narrative and 'Hustle by RCB', their fitness content initiative keeps fans engaged.

As such, the bid of $1.78 billion to acquire the RCB came as no surprise.