Latest news with #Lords-based
Yahoo
29-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
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. The ECB declined to comment.
Sky News
31-01-2025
- Business
- Sky News
Microsoft and Google chiefs in £295m deal for London Spirit Hundred
A group of technology billionaires including the bosses of Google and Microsoft have triumphed in an auction of the Lords-based London Spirit team in a deal which will set a record benchmark for the sale of a sporting franchise. Sky News can exclusively reveal that the consortium led by Nikesh Arora, the chief executive of Palo Alto Networks, and including Google's Sundar Pichai and Microsoft's Satya Nadella saw off fierce competition during a live auction conducted by the England and Wales Cricket Board on Friday afternoon. The deal dwarfs a £123m transaction struck on Thursday for the Oval Invincibles franchise by the ultra-rich Ambani family, and means the ECB will receive proceeds from London Spirit of about £145m. That will take the total proceeds to the ECB - for distribution throughout the sport - after three of the eight franchise sales to close to £250m. The blockbuster price underscores the intensity of the bidding for the most prestigious name in the Hundred tournament, allied to Lords' enormous sporting heritage. One source said the deal represented a world record for the price it attached to London Spirit as a multiple of the asset's five-year forward profit projections. Other investors in the winning consortium are said to include Egon Durban, co-chief executive of Silver Lake, the west coast-based private equity backer of New Zealand Rugby and the RAC breakdown recovery service. The other bidders in the London Spirit process were a vehicle controlled by Todd Boehly, a shareholder in Chelsea Football Club; members of the Manchester United-owning Glazer family; and RPSG Group, the owner of the Indian Premier League team Lucknow Super Giants. RPSG Group and the tech billionaires are understood to have engaged in a bidding war for nearly three hours before the latter group won, according to insiders. The ECB's stake in Birmingham Phoenix was sold to the owners of Birmingham City Football Club, Knighthead Capital, on Thursday in a deal worth over £80m. Stakes in Northern Superchargers and Southern Brave, among others, will be auctioned next week. Under the ECB's plans, it intends to sell its 49% holding in each of the eight teams with the counties left to decide whether they wish to offload any of their 51% stakes. The price of London Spirit means the ECB's original financial projections will be blown out of the water, with the three franchises sold to date valued in aggregate at around £500m. Bidders in auctions with at least three participants are able to submit binding offers at 15-minute intervals, and in increments of at least £3m. Losing bidders in each franchise may be given the opportunity to participate in the remaining processes, although the mechanics of such a scenario were unclear on Wednesday. For franchises with only two shortlisted bidders, the auction will involve a straightforward sealed bid shootout. The proceeds will be distributed between the hosts, non-host counties and the grassroots game. A bigger-than-expected windfall from the process could offer a financial lifeline to a number of cash-strapped counties, with part of the proceeds likely to be used to pay down debt. Concerns have been raised, however, that windfalls from the Hundred auction will not deliver a meaningful improvement in counties' long-term financial sustainability. The outcome of the Hundred auction is also likely to intensify other searching questions about the future of cricket, as the Test format of the game struggles for international commercial relevance against shorter-length competition. The Hundred auction is being handled by bankers at Raine Group, the same firm which oversaw the sale of large stakes in both Manchester United and Chelsea in recent years.
Sky News
30-01-2025
- Business
- Sky News
Ambanis' Mumbai Indians clinch deal for 49% stake in Oval Invincibles
India's richest family has clinched a landmark deal to buy a 49% stake in the Oval Invincibles in a deal that will unite the London-based team with the ownership of the Indian Premier League's Mumbai Indians. Sky News can exclusively reveal that the Ambani family, which has a fortune estimated to be tens of billions of dollars, triumphed in a live three-way auction conducted by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on Friday. The price that the Ambanis agreed to pay for the ECB stake was unclear, although sources said it was understood to have valued 100% of Oval Invincibles at approximately £125m. If that price is confirmed, the roughly £60m accruing to the ECB would set a benchmark for the sale of the governing body's stakes in the remaining seven teams to be conducted over the next week. The Mumbai Indians' owners triumphed after competing against a group of technology billionaires including the bosses of Google and Microsoft. CVC Capital Partners, the private equity firm which has been a prolific investor in elite sport ranging from Formula One to volleyball, was also slated to take part in the auction. The outcome, which may not be formally announced until next week, will see the Ambanis emerge among the most powerful stakeholders in English cricket. One insider said the Mumbai Indians would gain significant governance rights over the cricketing aspects of the Oval Invincibles team. The Oval Invincibles' men's team, captained by Sam Curran and featuring England internationals such as Gus Atkinson, is expected to fetch the second-highest price of any of the teams, behind Lords-based London Spirit, which will see the ECB's stake sold on Friday. The tech billionaire consortium will also take part in that process. Bidders in auctions with at least three participants are able to submit binding offers at 15-minute intervals, and in increments of at least £3m. Birmingham Phoenix is next on the block, with its auction scheduled for Thursday afternoon. Losing bidders in each franchise may be given the opportunity to participate in the remaining processes, although the mechanics of such a scenario were unclear on Wednesday. The other remaining bidders for London Spirit are a vehicle controlled by Todd Boehly, a shareholder in Chelsea Football Club; members of the Manchester United-owning Glazer family; and RPSG Group, the owner of the Indian Premier League team Lucknow Super Giants. For franchises with only two shortlisted bidders, the auction will involve a straightforward sealed bid shootout. The London Spirit franchise is expected to be valued at more than £140m, meaning the proceeds to be received and distributed by the ECB would be at least £70m, the insiders added. In total, the ECB has indicated that the eight teams could be worth in the region of £350m, although there are hopes that that figure will be exceeded. The proceeds will be distributed between the hosts, non-host counties and the grassroots game. Host counties are also allowed to sell their 51% shareholdings, although some have said they do not intend to do so. The MCC, which controls the London Spirit franchise, does not intend to offload any of its stake at this point, according to cricket insiders. Investors will only be allowed to own a stake in one of the eight teams, which also include Welsh Fire, Southern Brave and the Northern Superchargers. A bigger-than-expected windfall from the process could offer a financial lifeline to a number of cash-strapped counties, with part of the proceeds likely to be used to pay down debt. Concerns have been raised, however, that windfalls from the Hundred auction will not deliver a meaningful improvement in counties' long-term financial sustainability. The outcome of the Hundred auction is also likely to intensify other searching questions about the future of cricket, as the Test format of the game struggles for international commercial relevance against shorter-length competition. The Hundred auction is being handled by bankers at Raine Group, the same firm which oversaw the sale of large stakes in both Manchester United and Chelsea in recent years.
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ambanis' Mumbai Indians clinch deal for 49% stake in Oval Invincibles
India's richest family has clinched a landmark deal to buy a 49% stake in the Oval Invincibles in a deal that will unite the London-based team with the ownership of the Indian Premier League's Mumbai Indians. Sky News can exclusively reveal that the Ambani family, which has a fortune estimated to be tens of billions of dollars, triumphed in a live three-way auction conducted by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on Friday. The price that the Ambanis agreed to pay for the ECB stake was unclear, although sources said it would set a crucial benchmark for the sale of the ECB's stake in the remaining seven teams to be conducted over the next week. Money latest: The Mumbai Indians' owners triumphed after competing against a group of technology billionaires including the bosses of Google and Microsoft. CVC Capital Partners, the private equity firm which has been a prolific investor in elite sport ranging from Formula One to volleyball, was also slated to take part in the auction. The outcome, which may not be formally announced until next week, will see the Ambanis emerge among the most powerful stakeholders in English cricket. The Oval Invincibles' men's team, captained by Sam Curran and featuring England internationals such as Gus Atkinson, is expected to fetch the second-highest price of any of the teams, behind Lords-based London Spirit, which will see the ECB's stake sold on Friday. The tech billionaire consortium will also take part in that process. Bidders in auctions with at least three participants are able to submit binding offers at 15-minute intervals, and in increments of at least £3m. Birmingham Phoenix is next on the block, with its auction scheduled for Thursday afternoon. Losing bidders in each franchise may be given the opportunity to participate in the remaining processes, although the mechanics of such a scenario were unclear on Wednesday. The other remaining bidders for London Spirit are a vehicle controlled by Todd Boehly, a shareholder in Chelsea Football Club; members of the Manchester United-owning Glazer family; and RPSG Group, the owner of the Indian Premier League team Lucknow Super Giants. For franchises with only two shortlisted bidders, the auction will involve a straightforward sealed bid shootout. The London Spirit franchise is expected to be valued at more than £140m, meaning the proceeds to be received and distributed by the ECB would be at least £70m, the insiders added. In total, the ECB has indicated that the eight teams could be worth in the region of £350m, although there are hopes that that figure will be exceeded. The proceeds will be distributed between the hosts, non-host counties and the grassroots game. Host counties are also allowed to sell their 51% shareholdings, although some have said they do not intend to do so. The MCC, which controls the London Spirit franchise, does not intend to offload any of its stake at this point, according to cricket insiders. Investors will only be allowed to own a stake in one of the eight teams, which also include Welsh Fire, Southern Brave and the Northern Superchargers. A bigger-than-expected windfall from the process could offer a financial lifeline to a number of cash-strapped counties, with part of the proceeds likely to be used to pay down debt. Concerns have been raised, however, that windfalls from the Hundred auction will not deliver a meaningful improvement in counties' long-term financial sustainability. The outcome of the Hundred auction is also likely to intensify other searching questions about the future of cricket, as the Test format of the game struggles for international commercial relevance against shorter-length competition. The Hundred auction is being handled by bankers at Raine Group, the same firm which oversaw the sale of large stakes in both Manchester United and Chelsea in recent years. The ECB declined to comment on Thursday, while the participants in the Oval Invincibles process could not be reached for comment.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Cricket chiefs stage live 'super-over' shootout for Hundred stakes
Bidders for stakes in English cricket's eight Hundred franchises will this week begin taking part in live auctions enabling them to submit binding offers at 15-minute intervals, Sky News has learnt. Sources said on Wednesday that rivals contesting for franchises including the Oval Invincibles and London Spirit would be allowed to table new offers on the condition that they were at least £3m higher than the previous highest bid. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) hopes the structure of the process will encourage a lucrative bidding war, with its 49% stake in the Oval Invincible the first to be sold on Thursday. Three further auctions, including that of London Spirit, will take place this week, with the remaining quartet to be auctioned next week. Money blog: Netflix and Disney users could pay licence fee - even if they don't watch traditional TV Insiders said the ECB hoped to be able to delay an announcement about the outcome until the latter part of next week. Losing bidders in each franchise may be given the opportunity to participate in the remaining processes, although the mechanics of such a scenario were unclear on Wednesday. People close to the process said they anticipated that the Ambani family, which owns the Mumbai Indians IPL team, was seen as the likeliest winner of the Oval Invincibles auction. That would leave a consortium of technology billionaires which includes Satya Nadella, the Microsoft chief executive, and Nikesh Arora, the former SoftBank executive, as the potential favourite to buy the ECB's stake in Lords-based London Spirit. The private equity firm CVC Capital Partners and the consortium led by Mr Arora are also vying to buy the Oval Invincibles interest. If the tech billionaires were successful in the Oval process, they would automatically drop out of the following day's London Spirit auction. The other remaining bidders for London Spirit are a vehicle controlled by Todd Boehly, a shareholder in Chelsea Football Club; members of the Manchester United-owning Glazer family; and RPSG Group, the owner of the Indian Premier League team Lucknow Super franchises with only two shortlisted bidders, the auction will be a straightforward sealed bid London Spirit franchise is expected to be valued at more than £140m, meaning the proceeds to be received and distributed by the ECB would be at least £70m, the insiders added. In total, the ECB has indicated that the Hundred auction could value the right teams at about £350m, meaning its stakes would be worth in the region of £ host counties are also allowed to sell their 51% shareholdings, although some have said they do not intend to do MCC, which controls the London Spirit franchise, does not intend to offload any of its stake at this point, according to cricket will only be allowed to own a stake in one of the eight teams, which also include Welsh Fire, Southern Brave and the Northern Superchargers.A bigger-than-expected windfall from the process could offer a financial lifeline to a number of cash-strapped counties, with part of the proceeds likely to be used to pay down have been raised, however, that windfalls from the Hundred auction will not deliver a meaningful improvement in counties' long-term financial outcome of the Hundred auction is also likely to intensify other searching questions about the future of cricket, as the Test format of the game struggles for international commercial relevance against shorter-length Hundred auction is being handled by bankers at Raine Group, the same firm which oversaw the sale of large stakes in both Manchester United and Chelsea in recent years. None of the parties contacted by Sky News would comment.
