Diageo sells stake in Indian cricket team RCB for £1.3bn

(Sharecast News) - Drinks group Diageo on Wednesday said it had sold the Royal Challengers Bengaluru cricket team for £1.3bn to a consortium including Blackstone and US sports investor David Blitzer. The FTSE 100 firm acquired the IPL franchise 10 years ago when it took a majority stake in Indian drinks business United Spirits. Both the men's and women's teams are current tournament champions.

Diageo in November said it was conducting a strategic review of its investment in the franchise.

Blitzer, through his Bolt Ventures vehicle, has stakes in the UK's Crystal Palace premier league football team and the Philadelphia 76ers basketball franchise among others.

Global conglomerate Aditya Birla Group and the Times of India are the other consortium members.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com