Adar Poonawalla to put ‘STRONG and COMPETITIVE' bid for RCB over next few months

Business tycoon Adar Poonawalla has officially confirmed that he would be bidding to acquire the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). RCB are the defending champions of IPL, having won the title for the first time last time. The development of RCB's sale came last year after the current owners, Diageo, the parent company of United Spirits Ltd. wanted to put the franchise in fresh hands.

Taking to X, Poonawalla, who is the CEO of Serum Institute of India and Chairman of Poonawalla Fincorp, confirmed his participation in the bidding process. “Over the next few months, will be putting in a STRONG and COMPETITIVE bid for @RCBTweets, one of the best teams in the IPL,” the 45-year-old wrote on his X post.

RCB came into existence in 2008, during the opening season, when Vijay Mallya's UB Group bought the franchise for USD 111.6 million. In 2014, London-listed spirits giant Diageo became the majority stakeholder in RCB. The sale of RCB will happen through United Spirits' and Diageo's corporate channels.

RCB's performance in IPL & Chinnaswamy issue

One of the most-followed franchises in world cricket, RCB's agonising wait for an IPL title ended last year when they won the title for the first time in history, beating Shreyas Iyer-led Punjab Kings in the final. However, the victory was marred by a stampede during victory celebrations outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on June 4.

11 people died in that stampede including a minor. Owing to that incident, the Chinnaswamy stadium was deemed unfit for hosting big-level matches. As a result, the stadium lost the hosting rights of matches in the ICC Women's World Cup 2026 which India won.

Although the Karnataka government has given a green light to host at the venue in the upcoming IPL, RCB have pointed out several grey areas that need to be looked into. “We welcome Karnataka Government's decision to allow matches to be held in the iconic M Chinnaswamy Stadium and we also recognise and highly appreciate KSCA's efforts in the ongoing infrastructure work that has led to this conditional approval to host matches,” the RCB, on Wednesday said in a statement.

“From our preliminary conversations, there are still a few grey areas that need to be looked into, and we are considering these parameters and inputs from all stakeholders before arriving at a responsible decision for the team and our fans,” the statement added.