RCB initiate sale process; new owner likely before March 31

It is official - Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) has been put up for sale. As per the disclosure made by the IPL franchise, Diageo - the owner of the IPL and WPL teams - has already initiated the sale process and is confident of completing it by March 31, 2026.

The disclosure of the team being put on sale was made by Diageo itself. In a communication to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Wednesday (November 5), the UK-based company called it a "Strategic Review of the Investment in Royal Challengers Sports Pvt. Ltd. (RCSPL)," a wholly owned company of United Spirits Ltd., the Indian subsidiary of Diageo.

In its disclosure, the company said, "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."

In its covering letter to the stock exchange, Diageo and USL said they are making the disclosure under Regulation 30 of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements). The disclosure went on to add an important point, stating, "It is expected the process will conclude by March 31, 2026."

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."

The disclosure to the stock exchange, however, is so technically worded that it can be interpreted in many different ways. One inference of the announcement is that since sports - particularly cricket - is not the company's core business, it is looking at the option of hiving off its shares fully 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. Those who are conversant with such affairs say there is every chance that USL/Diageo are close to a deal and hence the declaration of a date.

Cricbuzz had previously reported that there may be quite a few interested parties, and among them are a private investment company based in the US, the 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.

The talk of RCB being up for sale has 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.

The company has been under pressure from its shareholders over its presence in a non-core portfolio, and it is well known that it has engaged a merchant bank to oversee the sale process.

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