Sun TV board approves £100.5 million acquisition of The Hundred's Northern Superchargers
(You can now subscribe to our
(You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel
The board of Sun TV Network has approved the acquisition of a 100% equity stake in Northern Superchargers , a franchise in The Hundred, a professional cricket league operated by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).Valued at £100.5 million, the deal marks the Chennai-based broadcaster's entry into the UK sports market. The board approved the acquisition at its meeting on July 18. Once completed, Northern Superchargers will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Sun TV.'We are enhancing our global footprint in sports and are investing in a club that is part of The Hundred, a limited-overs cricket league promoted by the England and Wales Cricket Board, the equivalent of the BCCI in the UK,' said R. Ravi, Company Secretary and Compliance Officer, in a regulatory filing. 'The foreign entity we are acquiring, Northern Superchargers Limited, is already profitable, and we believe that with growing global interest, The Hundred is poised for greater financial success.'Incorporated in May 2019 and based in London, Northern Superchargers reported a turnover of £1.89 million in FY24. The franchise is one of eight teams in The Hundred, a 100-ball cricket competition introduced by the ECB in 2021.Sun TV currently owns two cricket franchises Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League and Sunrisers Eastern Cape in South Africa's SA20 League. The company said the acquisition is part of its broader strategy to expand its presence in international sports.The investment will be made under the Reserve Bank of India's automatic route for overseas acquisitions and will be executed through authorised banking channels. The transaction is expected to close by December 31, 2025.Through the sale of stakes in all eight franchises of The Hundred, the ECB and several participating counties have attracted prominent investors from India, the US, and Silicon Valley.In addition to Sun TV, other major investments in The Hundred include Reliance , which acquired 49% of Oval Invincibles for £60 million; GMR Group, which bought 49% of Southern Brave for £48 million; and RPSG Group, which secured a 70% stake in Manchester Originals.A Silicon Valley consortium comprising Times Internet Vice Chairman Satyan Gajwani, Palo Alto Networks CEO Nikesh Arora, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, and Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen acquired 49% of London Spirit for £145 million.The Hundred is a professional 100-ball cricket competition launched by the ECB in 2021. The format is designed to make it more fast-paced and accessible to a wider audience, especially younger viewers and families.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
37 minutes ago
- Time of India
Drawn by demand and high returns, non-Mumbai developers rush to tap city's booming realty market
Mumbai's property market is attracting developers nationwide due to sustained demand and redevelopment potential. Encouraged by high prices and limited land, firms from Bengaluru, Delhi NCR, and Pune are entering through joint ventures and other partnerships. Redevelopment projects, including slum rehabilitation, offer significant opportunities, despite challenges like high costs and regulatory hurdles. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Mumbai: Mumbai is experiencing a rush of property developers from other parts of the country, drawn by sustained demand and the long-term potential of redevelopment-led activity in India's biggest and priciest property by elevated prices amid limited land parcels, developers from markets such as Bengaluru, Delhi NCR and Pune are looking to get a foothold in housing market in India's financial hub continues to record robust performance in registrations and high-value transactions across key micro-markets, attracting developers from outside the the financial appeal of Mumbai's realty market remains strong, challenges persist. High construction costs, complex land ownership structures, and regulatory timelines remain key hurdles."Developers from diverse geographies are entering Mumbai buoyed by financial backing from private equity, and institutional funding under joint venture, joint development, or development management business models," said Niranjan Hiranandani, chairman, Naredco. "Redevelopment projects, including society and slum rehabilitation, stand out as untapped opportunities for these players, often implemented in collaboration with local developers for smoother navigation through approvals, compliance mechanisms, and on-ground execution."Recently, New Delhi-based DLF re-entered the market through a joint venture for a project related to slum rehabilitation scheme in Mumbai's Andheri suburb. The company said it has received bookings for over 416 apartments worth ₹2,300 crore in the project's first phase and 20% buyers are non-desident Indians (NRIs)."Our entry into Mumbai represents a significant strategic milestone for DLF," said Aakash Ohri, joint MD, DLF Home Developers, a 100% subsidiary of non-Mumbai entities including Prestige Group, Embassy Group, RMZ, Puravankara , Blackstone-backed Kolte Patil Developers , and Ramky Estates & Farms have entered the Mumbai property market. Many more are currently exploring options. Most of these have reported robust sales performance on the back of ongoing steady housing demand."The interest from non-Mumbai players for an entry here has grown sharply in recent quarters. For many of them, the partnership model works out to be the best strategy with local execution support, reduced risk, and the ability to leverage a brand," said Gulam Zia, senior executive director, Knight Frank contributed nearly 28% of the total residential sales value across the top eight cities in the first half of 2025, making it a key target for developers."Mumbai appears to be a huge opportunity for a developer like us with a good execution track record. We are fully equipped to manage little complexities in the growth journey. We have so far acquired 7 key projects in the city including South Mumbai," said Rajat Rastogi, CEO, west and commercial business, to industry experts, Mumbai's redevelopment-centric approach shaped by regulatory frameworks such as Development Control & Promotion Regulations (DCPR) 33(7), 33(9), and slum rehabilitation schemes require experience in handling tenant consent, approvals, and municipal processes. This regulatory complexity continues to deter direct entry for many national developers, making partnerships a preferred from Mumbai and its suburbs, satellite towns including Thane and Navi Mumbai, and peripheral markets are also being explored by developers.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Yali Capital closes Rs 893 crore deeptech fund
Bengaluru: Bengaluru-based Yali Capital closed its debut deep tech-focused fund at Rs 893 crore, exceeding its original Rs 500 crore target and Rs 310 crore greenshoe option. The Sebi-registered Category II AIF plans to deploy the fund across early-stage and late-stage investments in sectors such as semiconductors, AI, robotics, aerospace, and smart manufacturing. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Founding managing partner Ganapathy Subramaniam told TOI that the fundraise was completed entirely through word-of-mouth, without any bankers or distributors. "Nearly 78% of our capital came from India – entrepreneurs, family offices, fund-of-funds like Sidbi's FFS and Self-Reliant India Fund, and corporate backers including Infosys and Qualcomm," he said. The fund's leadership team also committed Rs 15 crore each to the vehicle. Yali Capital operates through a dual structure comprising a Sebi-registered AIF and a GIFT City-based feeder vehicle to attract global capital. The firm has already backed five startups and plans to invest in three more by the end of the year. The average ticket size ranges from $2 million to $10 million, with ownership targets varying from 20% at seed stage to as low as 5% in late-stage deals. The fund will allocate 70% of capital to early-stage bets and the remaining 30% to growth-stage investments, primarily in companies at Series D and beyond. "Of the early-stage capital, about 45% will go into first institutional rounds and 25% into follow-ons," Subramaniam said, adding that the fund will not participate in secondary transactions. Subramaniam, who previously led and backed deep tech companies such as Cosmic Circuits, IdeaForge, and Tonbo Imaging, said the team brings strong operator experience and intends to work closely with founders. "Today alone, two of our portfolio startups spent three hours each with us. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now We're not just capital providers; we want to help execute the vision," he said. While Yali's early-stage focus will be on experienced or university-affiliated founders in deep tech, the late-stage strategy leans heavily on partner Mathew Cyriac's track record of taking companies like MTAR Technologies and Data Patterns public. "India has several deep tech firms doing hundreds of crores in revenue but struggling to scale. We want to come in, back them with capital and execution, and take them public," Subramaniam said. Asked about sectoral depth, he flagged manufacturing, robotics, and chip design as areas with strong founder readiness. "India is the world's second-largest chip design talent pool. The challenge is converting that into product companies that can compete globally," he said. The firm expects to announce a large investment in the chip design space in the coming weeks. While India's domestic deep tech market remains early, Subramaniam said the LP response and founder momentum point to a long-term inflection. "The ecosystem is maturing. There's plenty of pipeline. Now it's about patient capital and execution."
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Binned batteries to power India's lithium boom
Rajkot: Gujarat is set to give the 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' mission a significant push in lithium—the 'white gold' indispensable for powering gadgets and e-vehicles—while also extracting the metal without polluting the environment. Scientists at the Bhavnagar-based Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute (CSMCRI) developed a clean, fast, and selective method to extract lithium from disposed batteries. This discovery could significantly reduce India's import bills as the country imports 100% of its lithium requirement. This study was recently published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition, a leading peer reviewed chemistry journal by the German Chemical Society. Scientists say the technology will also give the much-needed momentum to India's rapid shift to green energy and lower dependence on fossil fuels. On average, one ton of lithium requires processing about 28 tons of battery waste. The metal is recovered only after several stages of processes that are slow, inefficient, and costly, often resulting in metal contamination and loss, and the purity is also not high. This also deters battery producers from extracting lithium from waste. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Many Are Watching Tariffs - Few Are Watching What Nvidia Just Launched Seeking Alpha Read More Undo The conventional process, after recovering the black powder, first involves leaching all metals like nickel, cobalt, and manganese in the battery's cathode, resulting in significant loss and contamination. If scaled up after commercial application, businesses handling waste batteries could get a big encouragement and better price. At present, waste battery handling is not a lucrative business due to pollution and the small quantity of lithium obtained. CSMCRI's scientists have turned the problem on its head. Instead of lithium coming out last, their new method pulls lithium out first—with purity. After recovering the black powder from used lithium-ion batteries, anthraquinone salt and hydrogen peroxide are applied to selectively extract lithium. Kannan Srinivasan, director of CSIR-CSMCRI, said, "This method avoids the harsh chemicals and high-energy use of existing processes." Lead researcher and Principal Scientist Alok Ranjan Paital said, "We achieved 97% lithium leaching efficiency in just one hour. Also, compared to 2–3 days required by traditional methods to extract one ton of lithium, this new technique delivers the same results in just 2–3 hours with higher purity. " Scientists also successfully synthesised new battery materials, proving its practical viability. "This greener method could help ease pressure on lithium mining and support a sustainable lithium supply chain," said principal scientist Kanti Bhooshan Pandey. CSMCRI is already in talks with industry players for commercial adoption.
