Could RCB be sold again? United Spirits eyes options for IPL franchise

India’s largest liquor maker United Spirits Ltd is reviewing its cricket franchise business and will decide by March 2026 whether to sell or restructure Royal Challengers Sports Pvt Ltd (RCSPL), which owns the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) teams.

Hinting towards the sale of the business, USL, in a regulatory filing on Wednesday, said it 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 teams 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.

“RCSPL has been a valuable and strategic asset for USL. However, it’s non-core to our alcobev business,” Managing Director Praveen Someshwar said.

“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.”

The review could lead to a sale or a new partnership structure, analysts told the newspaper.

“We believe there is a high probability of a sale,” ET quoted Abneesh Roy, executive director at Nuvama Institutional Equities, as saying. He noted that major global liquor companies typically prefer sponsorships and advertising over owning sports franchises.

RCB, one of the original Indian Premier League (IPL) teams, was valued at about $269 million earlier this year by investment bank Houlihan Lokey after winning its first IPL championship.

In 2021, the company began reviewing popular brands and later sold 32 mass-priced labels, including Haywards, White Mischief and Honey Bee, to Inbrew Beverages for ₹820 crore.

The RCB franchise could attract interest from private equity investors and sports funds keen on India’s fast-growing cricket market, but any deal would require approvals from the Indian cricket board (BCCI) and regulators, analysts said, as per ET.

Bloomberg News had earlier reported that Diageo was holding talks with advisers about a possible sale but had made no final decision.

The earlier speculation emerged amid tighter scrutiny by Indian regulators over indirect alcohol advertising in the IPL. The health ministry has sought stricter rules curbing surrogate promotions by alcohol and tobacco companies during cricket broadcasts.

RCB was founded in 2008 when then-USL chairman Vijay Mallya acquired the franchise for $111.6 million. Diageo later took full control of the team through its acquisition of Mallya’s spirits business.