The England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) might push the date for the equity sale of The Hundred franchises. Originally, the idea was to sell a 49% holding in each of the eight franchises by early next year, before the 2025 edition of the tournament kicks off. The bidding process had already started in September, and the names of several potential suitors have already come up. These include IPL teams, Premier League teams, and Hollywood celebrities.
However, the ECB doesn’t want to be hasty. The plan remains to announce the sale early in 2025, but that might have to wait. “The most important thing is we get the right partners. If that takes a bit of time, that takes a bit of time. I think it’s fine.” ECB Director of Business Operations Vikram Banerjee told the Business of Sport podcast.
“We have been running for four years, and so, if in this first round, we either the values aren’t there for one or all of the teams, or the right partner isn’t there for one or all of the teams, it’s fine. We’ll just carry on running it; we’ll do another year. My priority is to get the eight partners and make them amazing and help us grow,” he added.
The ECB is looking to sell a 49% stake in each of the eight Hundred franchises (Birmingham Phoenix, London Spirit, Manchester Originals, Northern Superchargers, Oval Invincibles, Southern Brave, Trent Rockets, and Welsh Fire). The money generated from the sale will be distributed to first-class counties, Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), and the recreational game. The remaining 51% is reserved for the counties of these franchises. Whether they choose to sell their majority share is up to them.
IPL interest in The Hundred
The Delhi Capitals, the Sunrisers Hyderabad, the Lucknow Super Giants, and the Mumbai Indians are the four IPL franchises that have publicly shown interest. However, as far as the bidding process goes, all the remaining six teams are also expected to try and buy a stake in the eight Hundred franchises.
IPL franchises have already entered multiple franchise leagues like the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), the SA20, the ILT20, and the Major League Cricket (MLC). The association has worked well, and that is one of the reasons why the ECB wants them involved. However, unlike the SA20, where all the teams are owned by IPL franchises, the ECB doesn’t want the same for the Hundred and is actively looking for other private investors.
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