The owners of Mumbai Indians will take a 49% stake in Oval Invincibles after winning a virtual auction that was conducted on Thursday afternoon. RIL will enter into a period of exclusivity that will involve negotiations with Surrey, the ECB, and their financial advisors regarding agreements before eventually finalizing the purchase.
Reports on Thursday night indicated that Knighthead Capital, the US-based hedge fund, has emerged as the successful bidder in the process for Birmingham Phoenix. Knighthead, which acquired Birmingham City Football Club in 2023, is already investing heavily in the city, including the development of a new "sports quarter." This will be their first foray into the cricketing world.
RIL's successful bid for the Invincibles is believed to value 100% of the franchise at £123 million, and they are consequently likely to spend over £60 million on their 49% shareholding. The ECB has declined to comment so far, and it seems unlikely that they will disclose the successful bidders or the valuation until next week. Neither Surrey nor Warwickshire has commented either.
ESPNcricinfo understands that RIL outbid a Silicon Valley tech consortium, which included the CEOs of Google, Microsoft, and Adobe, as well as private equity firm CVC. The Invincibles, who are the two-time defending champions in the men's Hundred and two-time women's champions, are the first team to be sold in the final round of the ECB's sales process.
This deal brings together two market heavyweights. Mumbai Indians are considered the strongest IPL franchise in the field, while Surrey is the richest English county club. The Invincibles will be the sixth team run by RIL: Mumbai Indians (both in IPL and WPL), MI New York in MLC, MI Cape Town in SA20, and MI Emirates in ILT20.
The Ambani family-owned RIL was widely associated with buying a stake in London Spirit, the Hundred team based at Lord's, but shifted focus to the Invincibles as the sales process progressed. Host venues have been allowed to sell some of the 51% stake that they will be gifted by the ECB as part of the privatization process. However, ESPNcricinfo understands that Surrey has stuck to their stance that they will retain their controlling shares.
Chairman Oli Slipper told Surrey's members last month that the club "must and will retain the controlling stake" in the Invincibles, and that they had been "totally transparent" with prospective investors, making it clear that this represented a "red line" for them. Slipper has previously proposed renaming the team to "Surrey Invincibles," though RIL will likely have a say in any future rebranding.
CVC, who own Gujarat Titans in the IPL, were also believed to be in the sale process for a stake in Birmingham Phoenix but appear to have missed out on both of the first two teams sold. The tech consortium will be among the bidders for a 49% stake in London Spirit on Friday, but they will face competition from RPSG (the owners of Lucknow Super Giants), Manchester United co-owner Avram Glazer, and Cain International. On the same day, a minority stake in Welsh Fire will be sold.
ESPNcricinfo released details of the final-round process on Monday, in which the remaining potential investors will enter a sealed bidding process if only two bidders remain, or a live auction if three or more. Next week, stakes in Manchester Originals, Northern Superchargers, and Trent Rockets will be up for grabs, while Southern Brave, which is being treated as a special case by the ECB since hosts Hampshire are privately owned by GMR, is the last team still to be allocated.
The ECB believes that the money raised from the sale of stakes in the eight Hundred teams will "future-proof" county cricket for the next 20-25 years. All the money raised will be shared between the 18 first-class counties, MCC, and the recreational game in England and Wales.
The Hundred's fifth season will likely resemble the previous four, with the ECB treating 2025 as a transition year. The tournament's fixtures were announced on Wednesday, with the season scheduled to run from August 5-31, avoiding a clash with Major League Cricket.
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