Royal Challengers Bengaluru officially up for sale:IPL and WPL franchise expected to get new owner by 31 March; parent company starts ‘strategic review’

Reigning champions of the Indian Premier League and former Women’s Premier League winners, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), have been officially put up for sale. Notably, as per the owner company of both the teams, Diageo, it has already initiated the sale process and is confident of completing it by March 31, 2026. When did the owner company of RCB announce its sale? The information about the sale of the IPL and WPL franchise came out in a communication disclosure to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Wednesday (November 5). Notably, Diageo called the disclosure a “strategic review of the investment in Royal Challengers Sports Pvt. Ltd. (RCSPL).” RCSPL is a wholly owned company of United Spirits Ltd., which is the Indian subsidiary of Diageo. Further adding to it, the UK-based company added: USL is initiating a strategic review of the investment in its wholly owned subsidiary, RCSPL. RCSPL’s business comprises ownership of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) franchise teams that participate in the men’s Indian Premier League (IPL) and Women’s Premier League (WPL) cricket tournaments hosted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) annually. Sale expected to be completed by March 31, 2026 In its covering letter to the stock exchange, Diageo and USL said they are making a disclosure under Regulation 30 of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements). The disclosure further revealed, “It is expected the process will conclude by March 31, 2026.” Why is RCB on sale despite securing title wins in IPL and WPL? Praveen Someswar, Managing Director and CEO of USL, commented, “RCSPL has been a valuable and strategic asset for USL. However, it is non-core to our alcobev business. This step reinforces USL’s and Diageo’s commitment to continue reviewing their India enterprise portfolio to enable sustained delivery of long-term value to all stakeholders, while keeping RCSPL’s best interests in mind.” A brief summary of the disclosure is that since the company’s core business is not cricket, the shareholders are clearing off Diageo’s shares completely or partially. The second high point of the disclosure is that the intended date of completion of the strategic investment process is March 31, 2026. As per insiders, such statements are a clear indication that USL/Diageo are already on the verge of securing a deal with another company. Possible buyers for the RCB franchise As per a previous Cricbuzz report, US-based private investment companies like Adani Group, the Jindals of the JSW Group, Adar Poonawalla of the Serum Institute of India, and Delhi-based Ravi Jaipuria of the Devyani International Group might be interested. The rumours of RCB being up for sale have been in the public domain since the tragic June 4 stampede outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, in which 11 fans lost their lives and several others were injured.