Royal Challengers Bangalore won their first Indian Premier League title in 2025. The league started in 2008, and the franchise finally lifted the trophy after 17 years. Shortly after becoming IPL champions, news broke that the RCB franchise was going to be sold. The franchise is owned by Diageo, a beverage company. According to media reports, Diageo wants to sell the franchise by March 31st of this year. Now, Adar Poonawalla, CEO of the Serum Institute, has posted a significant tweet regarding the potential purchase of the RCB franchise.
Adar Poonawalla tweeted about the RCB franchise
Adar Poonawalla tweeted on his X (formerly Twitter) account about his intention to buy the RCB franchise, saying, "In the next few months, I will be putting in a strong and competitive bid for one of the best teams in the IPL, RCB." Although RCB has only won the IPL once, it has a massive fan following. In terms of fan base, RCB rivals franchises that have won the IPL five times each, such as Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings.
Who is Adar Poonawalla?
Adar Poonawalla is known as the CEO of the Serum Institute of India, the world's largest vaccine manufacturer by volume. The company was founded in 1966 by his father, Cyrus Poonawalla. Based in Pune, India, the company manufactures over a billion vaccine doses annually and supplies them to more than 170 countries.
After joining the company in 2001, Poonawalla became CEO in 2011 and played a pivotal role in expanding the company's global reach, focusing on producing vaccines at affordable prices. Serum played a crucial role in the manufacturing and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, particularly for low- and middle-income countries, which brought Poonawalla international recognition.
Beyond pharmaceuticals, he is the chairman of Poonawalla Fincorp, a rapidly growing non-banking financial company, and has also ventured into the media and entertainment sector, including acquiring a significant stake in Dharma Productions in 2024. His business profile is characterized by selective, high-impact investments guided by a long-term institutional perspective.
