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Serum Institute CEO Adar Poonawalla on Thursday confirmed he will place a strong and competitive bid to buy Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Posting on X, he called RCB one of the best IPL teams and said the bid would be made in the coming months. RCB is currently owned by Diageo and is the IPL’s top-valued franchise.

Serum Institute CEO Adar Poonawalla on Thursday confirmed that he will bid to purchase the 2025 IPL champion team Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Taking to X, he said, “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 the race are Nikhil Kamath, co-founder of the discount brokerage platform Zerodha and Ranjan Pai, chairman of the Manipal Education and Medical Group (MEMG).

History of Royal Challengers Bengaluru

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.

RCB’s Valuation

According to a study by Houlihan Lokey, Inc, a US-based global investment bank, RCB is the top-valued IPL team, with a brand value of $269 million.