English cricket completed arguably its greatest transformation in living memory on Wednesday after Southern Brave became the eighth and final franchise to be bought in the landmark Hundred sale. As expected, Hampshire’s owners GMR Group – co-owners of Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League – have secured the 49% stake that was on offer from the England and Wales Cricket Board. It means the county, previously gifted 51% by the ECB, will take full control of Southern Brave once the final details are ironed out.
The value of this deal – and thus the overall valuation for Southern Brave – is still to be established. But after a 49% stake in Trent Rockets was secured by Chelsea owner Todd Boehly’s Cain International on Tuesday for a tick under £40m, the overall valuation of the eight teams is likely to be approaching a combined £1bn. Oval Invincibles. Valuation £123m. Host club Surrey. Investor Reliance Industries, owners of Mumbai Indians, bought 49% for £60m.
Birmingham Phoenix. Valuation £81m. Host club Warwickshire. Investor Knighthead Capital, owners of Birmingham City FC, bought 49% for £40m. London Spirit. Valuation £295m. Host club MCC. Investor Cricket Investor Holdings Limited, a Silicon Valley consortium, bought 49% for £144m. Welsh Fire. Host club Glamorgan. Investor IT entrepreneur Sanjay Govil, owner of Washington Freedom in Major League Cricket, bought 49% for £40m.
Manchester Originals. Valuation £116m. Host club Lancashire. Investor RPSG Group, owners of Lucknow Super Giants, bought 70% for £81m. Northern Superchargers. Valuation £100m. Host club Yorkshire. Investor Sun Group, owners of Sunrisers Hyderabad, bought 100%. Trent Rockets. Valuation £80m. Host club Nottinghamshire. Investor Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly’s Cain International bought 49% for £39m. Southern Brave. Valuation TBC.
Host club Hampshire. Investor GMR Group, Hampshire majority shareholders and co-owners of Delhi Capitals, bought the ECB's 49% stake. Hampshire’s status as a privately-owned county made the Southern Brave deal unique among the eight teams being sold off. It also means four of the eight Hundred franchises now have investment from IPL teams following deals for Northern Superchargers (Sunrisers Hyderabad), Manchester Originals (Lucknow Super Giants) and Oval Invincibles (Mumbai Indians).
Richard Thompson, the ECB chair, previously stated he did not want the Hundred sale to become “an IPL takeover” and should be satisfied with the outcome after Birmingham Phoenix (Knighthead Capital), Welsh Fire (Tech entrepreneur Sanjay Govil), London Spirit (Silicon Valley consortium) and Trent Rockets (Cain) all attracted investment from elsewhere. Sign up to The Spin. Subscribe to our cricket newsletter for our writers' thoughts on the biggest stories and a review of the week’s action.
