New Delhi, March 24 (IANS) A consortium led by Aditya Birla Group and the Times of India Group has acquired the defending Indian Premier League (IPL) champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) for USD 1.78 billion (Rs 16,725 crore approx), a news report claimed on Tuesday.

Bolt Ventures (Bolt) and Blackstone's perpetual private equity strategy (BXPE, Blackstone) are the other members of the consortium that have jointly bought the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, one of the eight original franchises of the IPL that was formed ahead of the inaugural edition in 2008, Cricbuzz said in a report on Tuesday.

The report claimed that the consortium of the four groups signed a definitive agreement with United Spirits Limited (USL), a subsidiary of the UK's Diageo plc, to acquire a 100 percent stake in RCB. The acquisition involves both men's and women's teams at the IPL and WPL.

Under the new ownership structure, Aryaman Vikram Birla, Director at the Aditya Birla Group, will serve as Chairman, while Satyan Gajwani of the Times of India Group will take on the role of Vice Chairman. The consortium also includes David Blitzer, founder of Bolt Ventures, and Viral Patel, CEO of BXPE, the report claimed.

The acquisition is subject to the customary clearance from the regulatory bodies, besides the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the governing bodies for IPL and WPL.

Diageo plc had put RCB on the block a few months back, with many suitors expressing interest in taking over the franchise. Those included Adar Poonawalla of Serum Institute of India.

RCB is the first and only franchise to hold the IPL and WPL titles at the same time. RCB men won their maiden title in IPL 2025, while the women followed suit to win their second WPL title in February 2026.

The RCB franchise was won in a bidding war by erstwhile liquor baron Vijay Mallya with a young Virat Kohli as the Icon Player. The Diageo plc acquired the RCB franchise when it took over United Spirits from Mallya.

--IANS

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