RCB put on sale; new owner likely before March 31

It is official and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) has been put on 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 the sale by March 31, 2026.

The disclosure of the team being put on sale by Diageo itself. In a communication to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Wednesday (November 5), the UK company called it a 'Strategic Review of the Investment 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, "the 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 team 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.

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 its India enterprise portfolio to enable sustained delivery of long-term value to all its stakeholders, while keeping RCSPL's best interest in mind."

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