(Image Credit: Adar Poonawalla via X, ANI)
Adar Poonawala, the Serum Institute of India CEO, has led to speculation of interest in acquiring a stake in the IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) when he indicated that they would like to own a franchise. On a post on X, he said, ‘At the right valuation @RCBTweets is a great team’ which many have viewed as being a soft launch of a takeover discussion.
RCB, which is owned by the United Spirits, surged their value and popularity after they won their maiden IPL title, with Rajat Patidar as their captain. The franchise has become a target to investors due to that success, and many feel that Poonawala might not be just speaking speculatively. The rumors are also reinforced by remarks provided by former IPL chairman Lalit Modi who termed RCB as a prime investment and that global or sovereign funds would be willing to purchase the team. He posited that RCB can be an incredibly valuable asset due to its win, brand and fanbase. Modi also conjectured that the owners could be planning to sell the franchise as a whole, as any valuation that would be realized would be a new point of reference when selling the IPL team.
This is not the first controversy surrounding RCB, after their championship win, 11 people were killed and more than 50 were injured in a stampede outside the Bengaluru stadium, M Chinnaswamy stadium. An ensuing tribunal pinned the blame of aspects of crowd management on RCB and post event speculations regarding franchise sale reemerged in the wake of the incident.
There is precedent, the Gujarat Titans was recently sold to the Torrent Group, who purchased a majority stake of 67 percent but left a large minority to the old owners. That transaction is being considered as a similar template of how investment or ownership transfer can occur at RCB. To put it briefly, the implied post of Poonawala has set the takeover speculation ablaze. Whether it will become a serious bid or it will even happen to be speculative is yet to be seen. That said, there is one thing that has been obvious, the profile of the RCB has hardly ever been higher, and its next ownership chapter might be soon to come.
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