Will Royal Challengers Bengaluru change its name after being acquired by a new group? That is one question on everyone’s mind since a consortium led by the Aditya Birla Group (ABG) on Tuesday acquired 100 percent equity stake in the IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bengaluru for a whopping USD 1.78 billion (approximately Rs 16,706 crore) from its current owner, United Spirits Limited. Other parties involved in the group are Blackstone’s perpetual private equity strategy, BXPE (a firm of which Viral Patel is the CEO), Bolt Ventures owned by American investor David Blitzer, and media conglomerate Times of India.
RCB are one of the eight original IPL franchises that have been part of the league since its inception in 2008. They won the IPL title for the first time in 2025. However, if a post by Ananya Birla, a prominent face in the Aditya Birla Group, is anything to go by, RCB’s name will not be changed. Ananya reposted an Instagram post on her story which said the team’s name will not be changed.
Talking about the mega RCB sale, which made the team the costliest IPL side ever, the USL said in a statement: “United Spirits Limited, pursuant to the meeting of its Board of Directors, today announced that it has entered into definitive agreements for the sale of the 100 percent equity stake held in its wholly owned subsidiary Royal Challengers Sports Private Limited (RCSPL) to a consortium.
“The consortium comprises Aditya Birla Group (ABG), The Times of India Group (Times), Bolt Ventures (Bolt), and Blackstone’s perpetual private equity strategy, BXPE (Blackstone), for a total consideration of INR 166.6 bn in an all-cash transaction,” the statement added.
The transaction includes RCB’s men’s and women’s (WPL) teams.
“RCSPL owns and operates the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) franchises that participate in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Women’s Premier League (WPL).
“Upon completion of this transaction, the consortium will, through its ownership of RCSPL, acquire the rights to own and operate the IPL and WPL franchise,” said the USL.
The announcement also concluded the strategic review of RCSPL that was initiated by USL on November 5, 2025.