When a collective £975m valuation was placed on the Hundred this month many were surprised a competition in its infancy could fetch such a number.
But the franchise competition through, largely, eight 49 per cent stakes being sold by the England and Wales Cricket Board, has exceeded expectations – around £700m was seen as a hopeful tournament valuation before the series of mini auctions.
But some franchises have seen investment at a fraction of the cost of others – there’s around £100m between the cheapest and most expensive 49 per cent stake.
Throw in two of the eight Hundred teams seeing their host county sell off some or all of their own 51 per cent stake and there’s certainly winners and losers from the auctions.
But who are they, and why? City AM takes a look.
Hundred winners
Reliance Industries Limited (Ambanis)
In what scholars may look back on as the deal of the century, India’s mega-wealthy Ambani family paid just £60m for a 49 per cent stake in Surrey CCC’s Oval Invincibles.
The family, through Reliance Industries Limited, has been looking at London Spirit but changed tact when it looked as though the Lord’s franchise could be at the heart of a bidding war.
Instead they got access to the Oval, which tends to be packed out through summers of short-form cricket.
It was also the first franchise to be sold, and subsequent sales have proven this highly sought after asset was backed for a relatively low price.
Knighthead Capital Management
While their £40m price point for 49 per cent of Birmingham Phoenix seems somewhat uninspiring, Knighthead Capital Management have seemingly played a blinder.
They focused on the Edgbaston franchise having already purchased the city’s League One club Birmingham City in recent years.
It means they’re expanding their footprint in Britain’s second city, where they’ve also spent £100m on a new site to replace St Andrew’s.
The American firm has bought smartly and with Edgbaston set for a new hotel and stand redevelopment granted by the local council there will be opportunities going forward.
RPSG Group (Lucknow Super Giants)
We all knew London would take the highest bids among the eight mini auctions, but Manchester’s Old Trafford franchise the Originals wasn’t far behind.
Though the franchise is now valued at just £9m less than Oval Invincibles, further proving the value for the Ambanis in the capital, Lucknow Super Giants owners RPSG Group have gotten a superb asset.
Their Old Trafford arena is marketable and modern, one of the best in the country, and sits on the periphery of what is set to be a major transformation area in the north when neighbours Manchester United redevelop the surrounding site.
It all points to Hundred money well spent. But the additional stake sold by Lancashire, to give RPSG Group a 70 per cent, and controlling, stake in Manchester Originals puts the investors at the forefront of an exciting era.
Sun TV Network Limited (Sunrisers Hyderabad)
In the only auction that saw a 100 per cent stake sold – 49 per cent by the ECB and 51 per cent by the host county – Sun TV Network Limited’s acquisition of the Northern Superchargers for around £100m is clearly a good deal.
The Sunrisers Hyderabad owners get access to the famous Western Terrace of Headingley and a great catchment area in which to sell tickets to.
And as the only 100 per cent majority owners in the Hundred going forward, they’ll be trendsetters for the other franchises. Done well and other conglomerates could snap up host county shares, but done badly and it could be a disaster.
Cain International & Ares Management
It may look like Todd Boehly’s Cain International, in conjunction with Ares Management (Chelsea FC, Olympique Lyonnais, and Inter Miami), got a bog-standard deal when they purchased 49 per cent of Trent Rockets for £40m but it’s actually a steal.
Because – besides Southern Brave, which was seemingly destined for GMR Group – Trent Rockets were the last franchise to be sold.
It could have easily gone for an astronomical price given all losers from the previous six auctions could have gotten involved in the bidding, but Boehly and co managed to do the deal.
And their reward is a strong Midlands presence at an international Test ground. Result.
…and Losers
Cricket Investor Holdings Limited (Tech bros)
While it was almost certain that Lord’s-based London Spirit would fetch the highest price – given the history at the Home of Cricket and the grandeur of being able to have access to the famous pavilion for a month of British summer – no one quite expected the bidding to go the way it did.
A group of individuals under Cricket Investor Holdings Limited – which included executives from Google, Adobe and Microsoft – ended up paying £145m for just 49 per cent of the franchise.
It values the team at nearly £300m, more than double the Oval Invincibles.
It is an astonishing price point and one that will need serious massaging if the 12 investors are going to see a good return on their outlay.
GMR Group (Delhi Capitals)
Before the auction began it was pretty certain that GMR Group would purchase Southern Brave, after all the Delhi Capitals completed a deal to buy host county Hampshire last year.
The result? A 49 per cent stake for around £48m – sold to themselves – valuing the club at around £100m.
This is good for GMR – they now own a county and the Hundred franchise associated with it while keeping the finances in their club.
But huge pressure was placed on them by the ECB to ensure a correct value was attached to the deal, and GMR are therefore likely to have overpaid slightly for this franchise to ensure no accusations of foul play.
Washington Freedom
While one of a number of franchises to have seen a 49 per cent stake sold for around £40m, the reality is Washington Freedom’s investment of Welsh Fire just isn’t that exciting.
There’s no Cardiff assets already owned like Knighthead have in Birmingham, and it is one of the franchises that will need the most work done to it.
The catchment area is good, however, especially if a mooted expansion franchise in Gloucestershire no longer takes place.
But this deal is probably at the bottom of the pile.