Yorkshire in talk with Sunrisers for £50m investment

With the talks with Rajasthan Royals (RR) falling by the wayside due to the structure of the deal, English county club Yorkshire, which face an insolvency threat, are in discussion with Sunrisers group for a £50m investment that would provide the Indian conglomerate with a controlling stake.

Rajasthan Royals, which have a massive fanbase in the UK, initially offered a £25 million deal to buy Headingley and lease it back to the club. However, the deal collapsed last September as Rajasthan proposed paying for their stake in Yorkshire with additional borrowing rather than direct investment. When Colin Graves returned as Yorkshire chairman, he revived the discussion with the Royals, but that has hit a dead end.

In the meantime, Sunrisers Group, which operates Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Sunrisers Eastern Cape (SEC) in SA20, has shown interest. The fact that Yorkshire ownership will give them a 51 percent share in the Northern Superchargers Hundred franchise from the ECB has enticed the Sun Group-owned franchise.

Meanwhile, the report also suggested that Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) are also interested in buying a stake in Yorkshire after failing to secure Hampshire County, who now have agreed to a £120 million sale to the GMR Group, which also owns a stake in Delhi Capitals Group. The fact that Hampshire has a golf course on their premises and a Hilton hotel on the site of the Rose Bowl bumps up its price. 

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