ADAR POONAWALA, CEO of Serum Institute of India and chairman of Poonawalla Fincorp, on Thursday confirmed that he will bid to purchase the 2025 IPL champion team Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Taking to X, he posted, “Over the next few months, will be putting in a STRONG and COMPETITIVE bid for for @RCBTweets, one of the best teams in the IPL.”
Earlier in October, Poonawala had posted,”At the right valuation, @RCBTweets is a great team.”
Among the other names doing the rounds in bidding for the defending IPL champions are Nikhil Kamath, co-founder of the discount brokerage platform Zerodha, and Ranjan Pai, chairman of the Manipal Education and Medical Group (MEMG).
Launched in 2008, Vijay Mallya, then head of United Spirits Ltd (USL) and Kingfisher Airlines, bought RCB for about $112 million. The franchise was set up under Royal Challengers Sports Pvt Ltd (RCSPL). However, after Mallya’s financial troubles and eventual exit from India, USL’s new majority owner, Diageo, took full control. Since 2016, RCB has been entirely owned by Diageo through RCSPL.
According to a study by Houlihan Lokey, Inc, a US-based global investment bank, RCB has a brand value of $269 million (Rs 2,464 crore at current exchange rates).
