The sale of stakes in six of the eight teams comprising English cricket's short-form The Hundred competition, to private buyers, has been completed.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) governing body, has confirmed as such today, also saying that the sale of stakes in the remaining two outfits – the Oval Invincibles, and Trent Rockets – "remain on track," and "are set for formal completion at a later date."
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The six teams to now formally have stakes held by private owners – encompassing both the men's and women's teams – are: Nothern Superchargers in Leeds, now 100% owned by the Sun Group; Manchester Originals, now 70% owned by RPSG Group; London Spirit, now 50% owned by US-based consortium Tech Titans; Welsh Fire in Cardiff, of which team the Washington Freedom outfit now owns 49%; Southern Brave in Southampton, 49% owned by the GMR Group (although that entity also owns the host county cricket club, Hampshire); and Birmingham Phoenix, 49% owned by Knighthead Capital Management.
The Sun Group and RPSG Group are India-based, with the other new owners all hailing from the US.
If and when the sales of the stakes in Oval Invincibles (London) and Trent Rockets (Nottingham) are completed, Indian heavyweight Reliance Industries will own 49% of the South London team, while Cain International & Ares Management will hold the same size stake in the Rockets.
Investors will take operational control of the six aforementioned teams from October 1, meaning they will do so after this year's edition of the franchise tournament, which runs between August 5 and 31 (meaning these deals have been unveiled at very much the eleventh hour). As such, they will not be directly involved in the 2025 tournament's running.
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By GlobalDataIn total, over £500 million ($x million) has been generated by the sale of these stakes.
The overall process got underway in September last year, with the ECB – which has run the competition up to this point – initially gifting 51% to the professional counties at whose venues the Hundred teams play. The ECB then looked to sell the other 49% in each organization, leaving it up to the host country as to whether any further stake was sold (thereby making an outside investor the majority stakeholder). The auction for these stake sales took place across late January and early February.
The most lucrative deal saw Tech Titans – a consortium of Silicon Valley tech heavyweights – pay £145 million for 49% of the London Spirit, who play their home games at the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground in London.
The ECB still owns the competition as a whole, meaning it controls the regulations and playing window – for the moment.
Richard Thompson, chair of the ECB, has now said: "With these new partners on board, we're entering an exciting new phase and a seminal moment for cricket in England and Wales. Their global perspective and track record in elite sport and business will help us reimagine what's possible – from deepening fan connections to attracting even more world-class players.
"Crucially, this investment will not only fuel the competition's growth but also channel transformative levels of funding into our professional counties and grassroots game.
"This will ensure cricket continues to thrive at all levels across England and Wales for generations to come, supporting our broader ambitions to become the country's most inclusive sport and driving cricket into harder-to-reach and underserved communities."
Future decisions about the commercial and strategic directions The Hundred goes in will be taken by a new board, which will contain representatives from both the ECB and all eight ownership groups.
The ECB hierarchy has repeatedly stressed how pleased it is with the size of the fees secured for the stakes, bearing in mind it turned down an offer of £400 million for the whole tournament from the Bridgepoint Capital private equity firm in late 2022.
