An American multi-sport ownership group has expressed interest in investing in the Hundred – but has concerns over the feasibility of buying a controlling stake in a franchise.
The 100-ball competition kicks off its fourth season this afternoon at the Oval in what is set to be the final year of teams being jointly owned by the England and Wales Cricket Board.
A guaranteed 49 per cent of each team will be sold to private investors, with up to 100 per cent of each of the eight clubs up for grabs – should counties sell their 51 per cent share.
A major multi-sport ownership group based in the US is actively exploring a deal, City A.M. has learned, but considers the lack of guarantee over a controlling stake “off-putting”.
With only 49 per cent up for grabs initially, it is up to the host counties how much of their 51 per cent they sell off.
The two London franchises – the Oval Invincibles and London Spirit – are expected to fetch the highest valuation.
The US firm’s concerns mirror those of a European private equity organisation and an Indian Premier League franchise owner, each who have spoken to City A.M. since the ECB announced they were seeking private investment into the Hundred in partnership with Raine Group, Deloitte and legal firm Latham & Watkins LLP.
The prospect of expansion franchises is not on the table at the moment, neither is a cut of the competition as a whole, but that may change.
Bridgepoint Group had a £400m offer for a 75 per cent stake in the Hundred rejected by the ECB in 2022.
Hundred expansion
ECB chief Richard Gould said yesterday: “In terms of the eight teams that we’ve got, we’re having really good, positive conversations with all of our stakeholders.
“We understand and we see the need for a potential expansion of the competition at some point going forwards. That is certainly something that has been discussed over the last five or six weeks with our stakeholders.
“We’re not saying exactly how that expansion could and would happen at this point because there are a lot of factors that would need to come into play on that. But, there is an ambition within the game that we would like to see the competition expand at some point.”
It is understood that the ECB will not stand in the way of potential owners adding a Hundred franchise to their growing portfolio should they already own a number of global T20 teams.
IPL interest?
One such example would be that of the plutocratic family the Ambanis, who own the likes of the Mumbai Indians and MI Cape Town in South Africa, Parth Jindal of the Delhi Capitals or Kalanithi Maran of Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Being the highest bidder will not necessarily result in owning a franchise. An owners and directors test, similar to those in the Premier League, will assess what value will be brought into the league besides cash.
While some potential bidders have expressed concerns to City A.M. regarding the process, they appreciate the ECB are too far down the road of only selling off a guaranteed 49 per cent that this will not change.
One potential bidder has also stated that they will seek assurances from English cricket’s chiefs that recent issues with racism are in the past.
The ECB is understood to be planning on taking a slice of the competition’s overall profits – mostly from the broadcast deal – before other counties, including those without a team, get their share.
The sale process begins in September and will run through until next year with prospective owners set to attend Hundred matches this summer.