A consortium comprising Indian and overseas business entities has successfully bought full ownership of Royal Challengers Bengaluru franchise for an eye-watering sum of about USD 1.78 billion (INR 16,660 crore). The “all-cash” deal was announced by the United Spirits Limited (USL), the existing owner of the RCB teams in the IPL and WPL.

As per a media release issued by USL, its board has approved the sale of the franchise to a consortium comprising Aditya Birla Group, the Times of India Group, Bolt Ventures and Blackstone’s perpetual private equity strategy, BXPE. After this deal, USL said, both RCB teams, which were being run by its subsidiary Royal Challengers Sports Private Limited, will now be “owned and operated” by the consortium.

That it is a phenomenal sum of money can be understood from the fact that it exceeds the combined value of the Lucknow and Ahmedabad IPL franchises – INR 12,715 crore (about $1.69 billion) – that the BCCI sold for in 2021. Incidentally, the consortium was not yet formed in February when at least eight investors had made the shortlist for RCB, whose men’s and women’s teams are the current champions in the IPL and the WPL.

Last November, global alcohol and beverage giant Diageo, which owns USL in India, said in its filings to India’s market regulator the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) that it was conducting a “strategic review” of its investment in RCB. Diageo said cricket was a non-core area for the company and it was aiming to close the sale by March 31 this year.