RCB stake sale valued at ₹16,660 crore

United Spirits has changed the legal makeup of the buyer group in its ₹16,660 crore sale of Royal Challengers Sports Private Limited, the company that owns Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s IPL and WPL teams. The company said in a stock exchange filing dated May 11 that it signed an amended and restated share purchase agreement after receiving a purchaser change notice. The price, number of shares being sold and other core commercial terms were unchanged, according to the filing. Business Standard first reported the revised consortium structure on May 15. ### Which company is actually being sold? Royal Challengers Sports Private Limited, or RCSPL, is the entity being sold, not just a minority slice of the cricket brand. United Spirits said on March 24 that it had agreed to sell its entire 100% equity stake in RCSPL for ₹166.6 billion in an all-cash transaction. RCSPL owns and operates the Royal Challengers Bengaluru franchises in the Indian Premier League and the Women’s Premier League, the company said. (bseindia.com) The March 24 announcement said the transaction would conclude a strategic review that United Spirits had launched on November 5, 2025. Diageo, United Spirits’ parent, repeated that description in its own statement on March 25. ### Who was in the original buyer consortium? (diageoindia.com) The original consortium named on March 24 included Aditya Birla Group, The Times of India Group, Bolt Ventures and Blackstone’s perpetual private equity strategy, BXPE. United Spirits said at the time that the consortium would acquire ownership of RCSPL, and with it the rights to own and operate the IPL and WPL franchises, once the deal closed. (diageoindia.com) Diageo said Citigroup was lead financial adviser to United Spirits, while AZB & Partners acted as legal counsel. Diageo said Deutsche Bank advised it on strategy, with Slaughter and May and Touchstone Partners as legal counsel. ### What changed in the revised agreement? (diageoindia.com) The May 11 filing said United Spirits executed an amended and restated share purchase agreement after changes on the buyer side. Business Standard reported that Big Banyan Holdings Pte. Ltd., Times Cricket LLP and ICONIQ Opportunities RC Holdco Ltd. were added, while Aelius Investments Pte. Ltd. and Metropolitan Media Company Ltd. exited. The newspaper said the changes reflected legal entities in the buying structure rather than a shift in the economics of the transaction. (diageo.com) The filing said the sale still covers 14,690 equity shares of RCSPL for aggregate consideration of ₹166.6 billion. It also said the amended agreement followed the March 24 share purchase agreement and left the underlying commercial terms in place. ### Why is the ₹16,660 crore figure the one to watch? The ₹166.6 billion consideration is the clearest disclosed number in the transaction because United Spirits and Diageo both used it in their March announcements. (bseindia.com) Business Standard said the revised structure did not alter that valuation. At roughly $2 billion, the figure places the sale among the largest disclosed franchise transactions in Indian sport, according to the newspaper’s report. The March 24 statement did not disclose how much each buyer would hold after closing. The May 11 filing excerpt available through exchange records likewise focused on the purchaser entities and sale consideration, not the final ownership split. ### What approvals are still needed before ownership changes hands? (diageoindia.com) The March 24 announcement said the sale is subject to customary closing conditions and legal, regulatory and other approvals, including from the Board of Control for Cricket in India and the Competition Commission of India. Neither United Spirits nor Diageo gave a closing date in the statements reviewed. (diageoindia.com) Business Standard’s May 15 report also did not give a timetable for completion. Until those approvals are in place, the consortium’s purchase of RCSPL remains an announced but unfinished transaction. (business-standard.com) (diageoindia.com)