Another massive news event arrived just a few days ahead of the Indian Premier League 2026 (IPL 2026). Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) is reportedly sold to the Birla group.
On the evening of March 24 (Tuesday), Harsh Goenka informed about the massive move through a short ‘X’ post. “RCB sold to Birlas! Great move”, Harsh Goenka shared the information on social media at 7.39 PM.
As soon as he shared the information, cricket fans started to notice it at a rapid pace. Here, in the post, ‘Birlas’ can be a reference to the Aditya Birla Group, which is chaired and controlled by Kumar Mangalam Birla.
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Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) sold to the Birla group!
Though there is no official confirmation about the move. In the recent past, it was reported that the Birla group has shown deep interest in buying the ownership of the IPL franchise.
If the latest claims are to be believed, then it is definitely a solid move made by them as RCB won their maiden IPL silverware in the previous Indian Premier League (IPL 2025) season, and they will play in the IPL 2026 as the defending champions.
A consortium of powerful investors is reportedly on the verge of taking over the ownership of RCB from Diageo, the current owner of the franchise.
RCB sold to Birlas! Great move.
— Harsh Goenka (@hvgoenka) March 24, 2026
According to media reports, Aditya Birla Group, alongside American sports investor David Blitzer, global private equity giant Blackstone, and Bennett, Coleman & Co. (publishers of The Times of India), is keen to close the deal. As of now, despite a lot of claims and reports, none of the parties involved in the move has opened its mouth in public.
A last-minute twist in buying the ownership!
It is also believed that a last-minute twist is possible as there can be interests from other investors as well. Dr. Ranjan Pai, an entrepreneur from the healthcare sector, backed by American global investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) and Temasek, also has a deep interest in acquiring the ownership of the franchise. The Mittal family of ArcelorMittal is reportedly another bidder who can be in the race to claim the ownership.
The alliance, headed by the Aditya Birla Group, previously investigated the ownership of the Rajasthan Royals (RR). Later, they shifted their interest to Royal Challengers Bengaluru, as it can be more profitable in comparison to the Rajasthan Royals.
Rajasthan Royals’ ownership sold for around $1.63 billion
Meanwhile, RR also has a new owner on board. A consortium led by US-based entrepreneur Kal Somani has become the new owner of the Rajasthan-based franchise. Somani is a well-known face in the international business sector as he is backed by American business Rob Walton, of the Walmart family, and the Hamp family, which also has majority stakes in the NFL’s Detroit Lions.
It is known that the Somani-led consortium has pursued the ownership of Rajasthan Royals for a whopping price tag of around $1.63 billion (£1.2 billion). It will be interesting to see how much the investors will spend to buy RCB, which has a massive fan base and also an IPL title.
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