Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) which owns the Mumbai Indian franchise, has won the bid for 49% stakes in the Oval Invincibles franchise as per reports. RIL will have to pay roughly £ 61 million for the franchise which is valued at £ 123 million.
Surrey County will control the remaining 51% of the stake. They are adamant about holding the controlling shares of the Hundred franchise.
RIL won the bid in a tripartite virtual bidding war with a tech consortium from Silicon Valley and CVC, the company who also owns the Gujarat Giants in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
With the acquisition of this franchise, RIL would now have a team in the ILT20, the SA20, the Women’s Premier League, and Major League Cricket (MLC).
It is reported that the 49% stake in the remaining hundred franchises is also up for grabs, and the tech consortium (which includes CEOs of Google, Microsoft, and Adobe) is in the lead to acquire the other London franchise, the London Spirits. GMR group had already won a stake in Hampshire county, and they’ll be the front runners for the Southern Brave franchise, with CVC eyeing the Birmingham Phoenix.
Other notable buyers include Sanjiv Goenka’s RPSG Group, the Manchester United co-owner Glazer family, and Cain International.
By selling these stakes in the Hundred franchises, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) aims to generate enough capital to run county cricket for 20-25 years from it.