When the BCCI sold the initial eight teams of the IPL, Royal Challengers Bangalore was the second most expensive team. In 2008, Vijay Mallya bought the Bengaluru franchise for $111.6 million (Rs. 446.4 million; $1 = Rs. 40 at the time), just behind the $111.9 million paid by Reliance Industries for the Mumbai Indians.
“My sole purpose of buying RCB was to promote my whiskey brand Royal Challenge; there was no cricketing passion behind it,” Mallya said in a recent podcast about his decision to buy RCB.
Structurally, the team is part of United Spirits/United Spirits subsidiary (often described as Royal Challengers Sports/United Spirits Sports, etc.), while Mallya’s UB Group is the promoter of United Spirits.
In 2012-13, Diageo agreed to acquire control of United Spirits Limited (USL). By the mid-2010s, Diageo had effective majority control of USL and therefore the franchise, although UB Holdings retained a minority stake in USL for a period.
Vijay Mallya eventually quit the USL board due to legal and financial issues and relinquished active control of the team around 2016. This makes Diageo/USL the de facto owner and operator of RCB.
In March 2024, the team officially changed its name from Royal Challengers Bangalore to Royal Challengers Bengaluru, in line with the city’s new spelling.
RCB ended their IPL title drought by winning the 18th T20 in 2025.
In late 2025, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, owned by Diageo subsidiary United Spirits Limited, put the franchise up for sale.
Multiple bidders participated in the bidding, with the Aditya Birla Group, TOI Group, Bolt Ventures and Blackstone consortium winning with the largest bid of $1.78 billion.
In absolute terms, the value of Royal Challengers Bangalore has increased by $1.67 billion in 18 years. This represents an increase of 1,495%, which is 16 times the price paid by Vijay Mallya initially.
