Royal Challengers Bengaluru was the second-most-expensive franchise when the BCCI sold the original eight teams in the IPL. Vijay Mallya bought the Bengaluru franchise for $111. 6 million (Rs 446. 40 crore; $1 = Rs 40 then) in 2008, just behind the $111. 90 million that Reliance Industries paid for the Mumbai Indians.
“My sole purpose behind buying RCB was to promote my whisky brand, Royal Challenge; there wasn’t any cricket love behind it,” Mallya said recently during a podcast about his decision to buy RCB.
Structurally speaking, the team was owned by United Spirits/United Spirits subsidiaries (often described as Royal Challengers Sports/United Spirits Sports, etc.), with Mallya’s UB Group as the promoter of United Spirits.
In 2012–13, the Diageo Group agreed to acquire control of United Spirits Limited (USL). By the mid-2010s, Diageo had effective and then majority control of USL, and hence of the franchise, even though UB Holdings retained a minority shareholding in USL for some time.
Vijay Mallya eventually exited USL’s board and gave up active control of the franchise around 2016 amid legal and financial troubles. This left Diageo/USL as the effective owner and operator of RCB.
In March 2024, the franchise officially changed its name from Royal Challengers Bangalore to Royal Challengers Bengaluru, aligning with the city’s new spelling.
RCB ended their IPL title drought by winning the title in 2025, the 18th edition of the T20 competition.
In late 2025, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, owned by United Spirits Limited, a Diageo subsidiary, put the franchise up for sale.
Multiple bidders came to the table with Aditya Birla Group, TOI Group, Bolt Ventures & Blackstone consortium triumphing by virtue of the biggest bid of $1.78 billion.
In absolute terms, Royal Challengers Bengaluru has seen a $1.67 billion increase in value over the 18 years. This represents a 1495 percent rise, or 16-times the original price paid by Vijay Mallya.
