Who is the owner of Royal Challengers Bengaluru?

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have now entered the league of the champions after they lifted their maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) title in Ahmedabad on June 3, 2025. They are also the champions of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) in 2024. RCB are among the most popular teams in the IPL who have been a part of the cash-rich league since its inception in 2008. RCB also have a huge fan following on social media with over 21 million followers on Instagram, 7.5 plus million followers on X, and over 11 million followers on Facebook.

A franchise based on Karnataka capital, Bengaluru, RCB are among the eight teams that were a part of the inaugural season of the IPL in 2008. As per the report by the Cricket Panda as of June 2025, RCB boast a net worth of around INR 1012 crore and are among the richest franchises in the IPL. The franchise was founded by Vijay Mallya, who is former owner of United Spirits Limited (USL) and founder of Kingfisher Airlines. However, does Mallya still owns RCB? Who are the other owners of RCB? Let’s find out.

Who is the Current Owner of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)?

The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) is currently owned by United Spirits Limited (USL) which is recognised as the largest alcoholic brand in India. USL initially bought the franchise in 2008, under Vijay Mallya’s ownership. However, in 2014, Diageo, a London based alcohol brand, bought majority stakes of United Spirits along with the RCB franchise. In 2016, Vijay Mallya stepped away from the ownership roles and United Spirits became the sole owner of the franchise.

About RCB’s ownership and brand value

RCB Ownership History: Timeline from 2008 to Present

2008

Vijay Mallya, co-founder of United Spirits and owner of Kingfisher Airlines, bought the RCB franchise, which was among the eight franchises in the inaugural season of the IPL. He bought the franchise for $111.6 Million i,e. INR 945.14 crore. Mallya came with the title of Royal Challengers Bangalore to promote his whiskey brand names Royal Challenge and saw IPL as the perfect platform.

2009 - 2013

United Spirits and VIjay Mallya remained as owners of the RCB in the initial years of the IPL.

2014

Diageo, a renowned alcoholic beverage brand in London, United Kingdoms, bought the majority stakes in the United Spirits and eventually also became owners of the RCB franchise. Diageo owns 55% controlling stakes in United Spirits limited since then.

2016

Vijay Mallya had to step away from the ownership role in the United Spirits after he was accused of several financial irregularities and moved to London after he had to still repay over INR 90,000 crore loan to Indian banks.After that, Diageo acquired a controlling stake at the USL.

2017 - 2022

United Spirits, owned by Diageo, remained as sole owners of RCB throughout the IPL seasons.

2023

United Spirits went on to buy another franchise of RCB for around INR 870 Crore ahead of the inaugural season of the Women’s Premier League (WPL).

2024 - Present

United Spirits still remain as sole owners of the RCB franchise and manage the team in leagues like the IPL and the WPL.

The Vijay Mallya Controversy

Former RCB owner Vijay Mallya and his companies were involved in several controversies since 2012. His company Kingfisher Airlines was also shut down in October 2012, due to huge debts and no path to recovery. On March 2, 2016, Mallya left India and moved to Britain stating that he wants to be closer to his children. He was accused of not repaying the loan of about INR 90 billion frmo 17 banks. All the 17 banks jointly went to the Supreme Court from leaving the country.

In April 2016, the Ministry of External Affairs (India) revoked Vijay Mallya’s passport, after which he resigned from his role in the Rajya Sabha in May 2016. He was declared as “proclaimed offender” by the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in June 2016. After that, Mallya had to completely step away from the ownership of United Spirits and also lost his stakes in the RCB.

About United Spirits Limited and their role in RCB ownership

United Spirits Limited is known as the largest brand for alcoholic beverages in India. Established in 1826 by Angus McDowell in Madras, USL was initially incorporated as McDowell Spirits Limited. USL also has a large history in the alcoholic industry and owns several successful brands like McDowell’s No.1, Royal Challenge, and Signature.

In 1947, Vittal Mallya was appointed as the first Indian director of United Breweries (UB) Group, which included United Spirits as a subsidiary. In 1893, VIttal Mallya’s son Vijay Mallya took over the role of chairman of the United Breweries Group after the death of his father. After taking up the ownership role, Mallya expanded the United group in the spirits industry and made it the largest alcoholic beverages brand in India.

RCB sponsors

As United Spirits, owned by Diageo remains as the sole owner of RCB, the franchise also gets several sponsors in every IPL season which help them to survive financially. The role of the sponsors is bigger than just bringing money on the table. They help in building the brand of the franchise by promoting it on several platforms, coming up with merchandise and many more.

Here is the list of major sponsors of RCB over the years

Maiden IPL triumph

Despite being a part of the IPL since the start of the tournament in 2008, RCB couldn’t cross the finishing line to get their hands on the title in the first 17 seasons. They made it to the final three times in 2009, 2011 and 2016 but ended up on the losing side on all three occasions. Their women's team ended up winning the WPL title in 2024 but the men’s team was without a trophy.

However, the wait for RCB’s first IPL title ended in in the 18th edition after they defeated Punjab Kings in the final at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on June 3, 2025. Rajat Patidar, who was playing his first season as RCB captain led the franchise to its maiden title while Virat Kohli also got his hands on the IPL trophy for the first time.

Bengaluru Stampede after maiden IPL victory

After RCB won their maiden IPL title, management decided to celebrate it with their fans on the streets of Bengaluru after the next day of the final on June 4, 2025. However, which was supposed to be a winning celebration, took the form of the tragic stampede which took around 11 lives with over 50 people critically injured.

The RCB management also got the backlash for announcing the victory parade on a very short notice as the police personnel couldn’t handle so much crowd outside the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. RCB also shared a post on their social media where they clarified that they withheld their celebration inside the stadium as soon as they got to know about the stampede. RCB also announced the INR 10 Lakh as compensation for the families of affected ones.However, the franchise didn’t make any official statement after that.

Key figures in RCB management

Owners: United Spirits Limited, subsidiary of Diageo

Chairman: Prathamesh Mishra, Chief Commercial Officer at Diageo India

Director of Cricket: Mo Bobat

Men’s team

Head coach: Andy Flower

Assistant coachL Richard Halsall

Batting coach: Dinesh Karthik

Bowling coach: Omkar Salvi

Fielding coach: Richard Halsall

Captain: Rajat Patidar

Women’s team

Head Coach: Luke Williams

Assistant coach: Malolan Rangarajan

Batting Coach: RX Murali

Bowling coach: Luke Williams

Fielding coach: Vellaswamy Vanitha

Captain: Smriti Mandhana

FAQs

Q. What other ventures are associated with the RCB owners?

A. United Spirits Limited is regarded as the largest alcoholic beverages brand in India. It was a subsidiary of United Breweries Limited, founded in 1826. In 1983, Vijay Mallya took the ownership of United Spirits. The company has several successful brands like McDowell’s No.1, Royal Challenge, and Signature. In 2014, United Spirits Limited was sold to Diageo, a London based alcoholic beverages brand which now have controlling stakes in the company.

Q. Who are the key figures in the United Spirits Limited?

A. Mahendra Kumar Sharma is the chairman of United Spirits. Pradeep Jain is currently the director and Chief Financial officer in the United Spirits since 2017. Praveen Someshwar is managing director and the Chief Executive Officer of the company.

Q. Is Vijay Mallya owner of RCB?

A. Vijay Mallya, former owner of United Spirits and the founder of Kingfisher bought RCB ahead of the maiden IPL season in 2008. In 2014, Diage0 bought majority stakes in the company and in 2016, Mallya had to step away from the ownership role due to several accusations on him regarding the financial irregularities. After that, Diageo took over the full ownership of USL and Mallya is no longer the owner of RCB since then.