Silicon Valley execs in late bid to bowl over London Hundred cricket team
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A consortium of Silicon Valley financiers and executives is assembling a late bid to gatecrash the auction of English cricket's Hundred tournament by tabling offers for the two London-based franchises. Sky News has learnt that Nikesh Arora, the chief executive of Palo Alto Networks, is spearheading a syndicate of wealthy executives with a view to buying a big stake in either the Oval Invincibles or its more expensive rival, Lords-based London Spirit.
Sources said that Mr Arora, a former executive at SoftBank, the giant Japanese technology group, was sounding out potential co-investors including Egon Durban, co-chief executive of Silver Lake, the west coast-based backer of New Zealand Rugby and the RAC breakdown recovery service.
Money blog: UK long-term borrowing costs hit highest level since 1998. Satya Nadella, the chief executive of Microsoft and an investor in Major League Cricket in the US, is also among those expected to be approached about joining the consortium if it is successful in acquiring a stake in one of the London-based Hundred franchises, according to cricket insiders.
The bids led by Mr Arora face stiff competition because of the level of interest from heavyweight financial players such as CVC Capital Partners and wealthy individuals, including Todd Boehly, the Chelsea Football Club joint-owner. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the eight host counties are in the process of narrowing the field of bidders for stakes in the eight franchises, which include Birmingham Phoenix, Northern Superchargers and Southern Brave.
