Yorkshire has received a remarkable buyout offer from Indian Premier League (IPL) team, Rajasthan Royals. If this offer is accepted, that would make Yorkshire CCC, the first county club to be controlled by an international franchise.
In contrast to other investment proposals the club has received, the IPL team has made Yorkshire an offer of roughly £25 million (Rs 260 crore), which would allow the Rajasthan Royals to fully control Headingley and put an end to its 160-year history as a members-only club.
In order to raise the money needed to pay the £15 million debt owing to the family trust of former chairman Colin Graves, Mail Sport reported last week that Yorkshire were considering selling Headingley to former Newcastle owner Mike Ashley.
Additionally, they have discussed borrowing money from other IPL teams and Badr bin Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Farhan Al Saud, a Saudi prince.
While Rajasthan Royals wants total authority, other deals would guarantee that Yorkshire remains in the hands of their members. To pay off the Graves debt, RR would give Yorkshire a convertible loan note, which would later convert to equity.
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Rajasthan Royals (RR) is said to want a majority shareholding, although the exact level of their stock interest will depend on the market conditions at the time of conversion.
The offer is being thought about by Yorkshire’s management team and will be presented to the board later this month. After that, they would present the offer to the members, who would then vote on whether or not to accept it.
According to sources speaking to Mail Sport, Rajasthan intends to hire their own executives to administer the team. If this happens, it will have an impact on director of cricket Darren Gough and head coach Ottis Gibson.
The ECB has made no secret of their aim to draw foreign investment, particularly to the eight hundred franchises, which are owned and funded by the governing body, so Rajasthan Royals offer is appropriate.
Members possess control of 15 of the 18 first-class counties. The only exceptions are Hampshire, Durham, and Northamptonshire, all of which have English majority owners.
The Northern Superchargers, who play their home games in Headingley, have Yorkshire as a significant shareholder. In addition to considering investing in the Hundred, Rajasthan has previously purchased shares in foreign T20 teams Barbados Royals of the Caribbean Premier League and Paarl Royals of South Africa.
If this deal goes through, Rajasthan Royals would get control of a famous international location and a cheap entry point into Hundred ownership if they took over Yorkshire.
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