We have all seen the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) memes and witnessed their bad luck at Indian Premier League (IPL) over the years. However, it cannot be denied that it’s a great team with some of the best cricket legends in the world. Today, we are going to look at the net worth of RCB’s owner United Spirits and everything else you need to know about the organisation.
With the likes of Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Faf du Plessis, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj and more, RCB is one of the richest teams of IPL. The much-adored and trolled team has its equal share of fans and haters. RCB has also been one of the most controversial teams, owing to its past owner Vijay Mallya’s infamous episode and also due to Kohli’s antics. The controversy seems far from over as RCB suffered a defeat and failed to qualify for the playoffs in IPL 2023. On that note, let us take a look at RCB’s owner United Spirits.
All about RCB’s owner United Spirits
The Bengaluru-based cricket franchise is owned by United Spirits Limited, a company by Diageo Group, a global leader in the alcohol industry. It features an outstanding collection of brands of spirits, beer and wine, scotch whisky, IMFL whisky, brandy, rum, vodka, gin and more. With 18 brands in its portfolio that sell more than a million cases each year, United Spirits has made a mark on the world stage.
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Earlier known as United Breweries Limited, United Spirits is the world’s second-largest spirits company by volume. At present, United Spirits is owned by Mahendra Kumar Sharma.
United Spirits net worth
United Spirits is a reputed name in the world of alco-bev with a massive net worth and earnings. According to MoneyControl, as of March 2023, the company has earned a gross revenue of INR 27,577.50 crore and a net revenue of INR 10,373.70 crore from its operations in the last 12 months.
History
The company was originally called McDowell and Company which was founded in India in 1826 by a Scottish person, Angus McDowell. It originally imported liquor, tobacco products, and other kinds of consumer goods into India to serve the needs of British officers and people stationed here. With an initial capital of INR 8 lakh, McDowell & Company Limited was incorporated as a company in 1898.
In 1951, Vittal Mallya-run United Breweries Group bought McDowell and Company. In the early 1960s, the company also acquired Carew & Co and Phipson & Co, manufacturers of rum, gin, and other hard liquors.
The Vijay Mallya controversy
As we all know, when RCB was formed back in the day, the franchise was owned by Vijay Mallya, the then Chairman of Kingfisher Airlines and United Spirits. He bought the team for USD 111.6 million (INR 924 crore approx.), which went on to become the second-highest bid of the IPL. In 2016, after Mallya became a defaulter and was unable to repay his loans, RCB was sold off to an new owner – that being the United Spirits.
How did United Spirits become a part of Diageo?
On 27 May 2013, Diageo acquired a 10 percent stake in United Spirits. On 4 July of the same year, Diageo bought an additional 14.98 percent of the company, and raised its holdings to 25.02 percent. Slowly, Diageo became the largest shareholder of the now-RCB owner and started making substantial changes to the management structure of the firm.
What brands does United Spirits own?
United Spirits has received recognition for its quality of alcohol from independent jury such as International Wine & Spirits Competition (UK), International Spirits Challenge (UK), World Beverage Competition (US), Monde Quality Institute (Belgium) and Mundusvini (Germany).
It owns brands such as Black Dog Centenary Scotch Whisky, Black Dog 12-year-old Deluxe Scotch Whisky, Antiquity Rare Whisky, Antiquity Blue Whisky, Signature Whisky, Single Malt Whisky, DSP Black Whisky, Celebration Rum, McDowell’s No.1 Brandy, White Mischief Vodka, Premium Romanov and Blue Riband Gin.
The brand also acquired the leading distiller of Scotch whisky, Whyte & Mackay and a wine subsidiary of French champagne company Taittinger, Bouvet Ladubay. Both Bouvet Ladubay and Whyte & Mackay are now 100 percent subsidiaries, making United Spirits a manufacturer of 17 millionaire brands.
Hero Image: Courtesy United Spirits, Featured Image: Courtesy royalchallengersbangalore
A journalism student who studied the subject only to meet SRK in person, she settled for the best way to meet him. Covering Entertainment throughout her career, and now Food, Health and Lifestyle as well, Sreetama is also a self-proclaimed plant mom. In love with all things slow and quiet, she can often be found hunting for quiet corners with a glass of wine in hand. Other loves include little, inconsequential things, like neatly tucked-in bedsheets and big, significant things, like whole cheesecakes. She dreams of being a baker and writing about food someday.
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