A couple of IPL franchises and a couple of renowned tech industry owners have shown interest in taking the ownership roles in The Hundred.
IPL Franchises Show Interest In The Hundred
A few IPL franchise owners are among the shortlisted investors: Mumbai Indians, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Lucknow Super Giants, and Delhi Capitals co-owners GMR Group. A consortium of global tech giants with leaders from Google, Microsoft, and Adobe also remains in contention.
IPL And Tech Giants In The Spotlight
The bid for The Hundred franchises is in its decisive phase, as investors compete to win equity stakes for all eight franchises. Mumbai Indians and the tech consortium, led by Nikesh Arora of Palo Alto Networks, heavily target the London-based teams, particularly Oval Invincibles and London Spirit. The consortium includes some of Silicon Valley’s biggest names, such as Sundar Pichai (Google CEO) and Satya Nadella (Microsoft CEO), among others. IPL franchise owners, including RPSG Group, are also targeting multiple teams in the competition.
Interest In Manchester And London Teams
The most sought-after teams are London clubs, Oval Invincibles and London Spirit, which investors are interested in tapping into the commercial potential of the city. Manchester Originals, hosted by Lancashire, is another highly sought-after team, largely because of the city’s connection to famous football clubs and its young, vibrant population. IPL owners are attracted to the possibility of working with Lancashire in managing cricket operations, making Manchester a strong contender for their investments.
Apart from the London-based teams, there are others in the regional franchises, including Trent Rockets, Northern Superchargers and Welsh Fire that have generated much interest. The Sun Group that owns Sunrisers franchises of both IPL and SA20 has shown much interest in these teams while global fund manager CVC Capital Partners has taken a keen interest in Birmingham Phoenix, focusing on them.
A Profitable Future For The Hundred
Interest for both the IPL teams and global investors is strong towards the ECB decision of privatizing The Hundred by selling 49% stakes in franchises. Bids are expected to exceed £350 million, thereby shaping the new structure of the competition from 2026 onwards under the new ownerships.
The Sportz Planet Desk,
Atharva Shetye