The glamorous Indian Premier League (IPL) team Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), which is led by flamboyant Indian Test skipper Virat Kohli, is now no longer completely owned by Vijay Mallya‘s United Breweries (UB) group.
Diageo, a British liquor company which holds a major stake, of 55 per cent, in United Spirits Limited (USL), once owned by Mallya, has withdrawn its sponsorship of RCB, Mumbai Mirror reported.
All branding related to USL have been removed from the team’s official jersey for this 2015 season. It was unveiled by their captain, Kohli, on Sunday in Mumbai. The only brand on the jersey that links to Mallya is Kingfisher, which is owned by UBL, an entity separate from USL.
“Mr Mallya’s stake in USL is five per cent, most of which, we understand, has been pledged to banks,” said a Diageo official.
“He is the chairman of the RCB sports management company and in that capacity he is involved with the team. The team belongs to USL and there is no ownership by Mr Mallya at all,” he added.
About this whole issues, the RCB team management commented, “It was decided to market the properties and have new sponsors on board. It was a conscious call.”
