RCB to be bought by Nikhil Kamath? Billionaires engaged in fight to acquire ownership of franchise

The Royal Challengers Bengaluru are up for sale from their current owners, the Diageo Group, who held the ownership through their Indian surrogate company, United Spirits. Several Indian billionaires are up and running to secure the deal over the defending champions of the IPL.

The Royal Challengers Bengaluru, the defending champions of the IPL, have been off from the buzz while several teams make the rounds during the pre-season trade window ahead of the IPL mini-auction. The sole reason for this is that the team is currently up for an ownership switch.

One of the most highly valued franchises in the world, the RCB has drawn several bidders despite the stampede incident, which occurred during the victory celebrations earlier this year, being a serious blow to their worldwide reputation.

SHORTS

View More

Your daily dose of cricket!

Loading...

Indian billionaires in the race for securing RCB ownership

The UK-based company Diageo is the parent company that owns the Royal Challengers Bengaluru; however, they declared that RCB was up for sale since they are not willing to continue with a brand that does not comply with the liquor brand.

Adar Poonawala's X post on RCB and his interest had first brought the matter into the limelight. At first, several companies and business groups were informed of having shown interest in the RCB franchise stakes.

Cricbuzz had then reported that Adar Poonawalla of Serum Institute and Parth Jindal of the JSW Group, Adani Group, Ravi Jaipuria, and two more US-based private equity firms have shown interest in buying RCB.

As per the latest reports in the Times of India, three Indian businessmen have entered the race for RCB and are likely to place a bid on the franchise. They are Bengaluru-based billionaires Nikhil Kamath, co-founder of discount brokerage platform Zerodha; Ranjan Pai, chairman of the Manipal Education and Medical Group (MEMG); and lastly, Adar Poonawalla from the Serum Institute of India, the second-largest vaccine producer in the world.

RCB currently has the highest brand value among IPL franchises

The TOI had sent an email and a message to both Pai and Kamath's teams, but there was no response from their end. They are both pretty local to the Karnataka-based franchise, as it would help them connect on a local level with the RCB crowd, as well as state political and social engagement.

According to Forbes, Pai has an estimated net worth of $2.8 billion, while Kamath’s stands at $2.5 billion. while the CEO of the Serum Institute and his family are worth more than $20 billion.

Another Forbes report from 2022 suggested RCB to be valued at just over $1 billion; however, that was eight years ago, and they had not won a championship back then. A valuation report from Houlihan Lokey showed that IPL's business value has reached a whopping $18.5 billion, and its brand value went up to $3.9 billion in 2025. The RCB, among all franchises, is valued the most at $269 million.

Will the team management and players remain the same under the new RCB owners?

The Royal Challengers Bangalore are likely to have a new owner, but no news of any changes to their management has made the rounds over the internet. The Royal Challengers announced the appointment of Malolan Rangarajan as their head coach for WPL, alongside Anya Shrubsole as their bowling coach.

These changes were made to the WPL franchise RCB Women, and they did not account for any changes to the Men's team management, which comprises Dinesh Karthik, MO Bobat, and Andy Flower, among others.

ALSO READ: Harleen Deol gets scolded in PM Office, complains to Narendra Modi