English cricket goes into bat with bulk of £520m Hundred windfall
English cricket's governing body will on Wednesday hail a landmark moment for the sport when it announces that three-quarters of the deals to bring in new investors to The Hundred have been completed.
Sky News understands that the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) plans to issue a statement confirming that it has received proceeds from the sale of stakes in Birmingham Phoenix, London Spirit, Manchester Originals, Northern Superchargers, Southern Brave and Welsh Fire.
The two other franchise deals - involving the Oval Invincibles and Nottinghamshire's Trent Rockets - will be completed on October 1, the ECB is expected to say.
One insider said a statement was likely to be issued on Wednesday, although they cautioned that the timing could slip.
When all eight deals are concluded, they will generate a collective windfall of £520m for the sport's strained coffers.
Last week, Sky News revealed that unresolved talks between India's richest family and Surrey County Cricket Club - which hosts the Oval Invincibles Hundred team - were threatening to delay the delivery of a vast windfall for the sport.
One of the outstanding issues relates to the name under which the Oval Invincibles will play in future years, with the Ambani family keen to use a derivative of the Mumbai Indians brand that it also owns.
This week's announcement will come after months of talks after the ECB and the eight Hundred-playing counties agreed exclusivity periods with their preferred investors.
The backers include some of the world's most prominent financiers, billionaires and technology executives.
Following protracted talks, the ECB has agreed to revised terms with the investors, with host venues now retaining control of their teams' intellectual property rights.
The investors will also hold an effective veto over future expansion of the Hundred, while the ECB will be barred from launching any other short-form professional version of the sport while the Hundred remains operational.
Meanwhile, the governing body will retain full ownership of the competition itself as well as controlling the regulation of it and the window within which it can be played each year.
The ECB has been waiting for investors in the eight franchises to sign participation agreements since an auction in February which valued the participating teams at just over £975m.
Some of the deals involve the investors owning 49% of their respective franchise, while India's Sun TV Network has taken full ownership of Yorkshire's Northern Superchargers.
The proceeds of its stake sales will be distributed to all of English cricket's professional counties as well as £50m being delivered to the grassroots game.
The windfalls are being seen as a lifeline for many cash-strapped counties which have been struggling under significant debt piles for many years.
The most valuable Hundred sale saw a group of technology tycoons, including executives from Google and Microsoft, paying about £145m for a 49% stake in Lords-based London Spirit.
This year's kicks off next week with fixtures including a clash between the two London-based franchises.
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