The ownership transfer process of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) gained momentum yesterday as Adar Poonawalla said he will be tableing a “strong and competitive” bid for the IPL team. Royal Challengers are the defending IPL champions and, perhaps, have the biggest fan base among the 10 teams in the league.

“Over the next few months, will be putting in a STRONG and COMPETITIVE bid for RCB, one of the best teams in the IPL,” Poonawalla, Chief Executive Officer of Pune-based vaccine-maker Serum Institute of India, wrote on his official ‘X’ handle, according to a PTI report from Bengaluru.

However, the corporate czar did not reveal specifics such as timeline or a potential bid amount. But the bid has to be made in the near future as the IPL 2026 is scheduled to begin on March 26.

The effort to find a new owner for RCB, currently valued at around $105 million as per Forbes India, began in November last year by current owners United Spirits Ltd (USL), the Indian arm of global beverage major Diageo.

The June 4 stampede that killed 11 fans during RCB victory celebrations also accelerated the move to sell the team. Praveen Someshwar, Managing Director & CEO of United Spirits Ltd, had said: “RCSPL has been a valuable and strategic asset for USL, however it’s non-core to our alcobev business.

“This step reinforces USL’s and Diageo’s commitment to continue reviewing its India enterprise portfolio to enable sustained delivery of long-term value to all its stakeholders, while keeping RCSPL’s best interest in mind.”

The United Spirits had acquired RCB from their original owner Vijay Mallya after his business ventures collapsed in 2016.

However, Poonawalla’s tweet comes at a time when RCB is speculated to be taking their home matches out of Bengaluru during IPL 2026. In fact, Pune, Mumbai and Raipur are in touch with the franchise to host seven home-leg matches.

The Karnataka State Cricket Association on Wednesday (Jan. 21) had urged the RCB management to stay back in the city for their home matches, emphasising on the security and facility enhancements made to the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

However, the RCB responded by saying that “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.”

Other than Poonawalla, Hombale Films, owned by Vijay Kiragandur, is also in fray to own the RCB. Hombale is the production house behind pan-India hit movies such as ‘KGF’ and ‘Kantara’ sequels. But an official statement is yet to be issued by the owners.

Meanwhile, in October 2024, entertainment news outlet Variety had reported that pharmaceutical tycoon Poonawalla’s Serene Productions was gearing up to invest $119 million in Indian filmmaker Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions and Dharmatic Entertainment.

The deal values Dharma at $238 million and gives Serene Productions a 50 percent stake in the company. Under the new structure, Johar will retain 50 percent ownership and serve as executive chair, overseeing the creative direction. Apoorva Mehta will continue as CEO, managing strategic and operational aspects of the business, Variety had added.