BEVERAGE giant Diageo is mulling a potential sale of its Indian Premier League (IPL) side Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
The reigning IPL champions - whose roster this year featured the likes of England's Phil Salt, Liam Livingstone and Jacob Bethell, as well as Australians Tim David and Josh Hazlewood - are owned by United Spirits, a subsidiary of British-based Diageo.
Indian legend Virat Kohli also features in the side, alongside Jitesh Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Bloomberg reports that the alcoholic beverage titan could set a valuation of around $2bn for the franchise, though no final decision has been made.
Though the IPL collectively is worth billions there are some potential obstacles which could derail the rise of the franchise competition in India with the country's health ministry pushing for a number of sponsorship bans relating to alcohol and tobacco.
CVC sold over two thirds of its Gujarat Titans franchise, which was purchased for $647m in 2021, earlier this year. That deal saw 67 per cent of the franchise sell for $575m, with the buyers having the chance at purchasing the remaining nearly onethird at a later date.
The valuation for Royal Challengers Bengaluru, then, would likely be more than double that.
Some reports in India state United Spirits deny the sale attempt.
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