The auction for stakes in the eight teams from English cricket’s short-form Hundred competition has now concluded, through the (as expected) sale of a stake in the Southern Brave franchise to Indian multi-national conglomerate GMR Group.
The sale means that the eight sides’ final value – as the process comes to end end – has surpassed £950 million ($1.18 billion). The money raised, meanwhile, is up to over £520 million.
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GMR Group carried out a takeover of the Hampshire county cricket club (with the men's and women's Southern Brave based out of their ground) last September, meaning this deal, for full control of the Hundred franchise, was widely expected.
The new owners have reportedly agreed a deal for the stake in the Southern Brave previously owned by the England and Wales Cricket Board that values the whole franchise at £98 million.
The men's Southern Brave side won the inaugural edition of the Hundred, in 2021, while the women's team won the trophy in 2023.
Aside from the Southern Brave and Hampshire, GMR Group also owns a team in the glamorous and lucrative Indian Premier League – the Delhi Capitals – as well as sides in the UAE's ILT20 and South Africa's SA20, while the group is also principal investor in the Seattle Orcas of Major League Cricket in the US.
This deal means that the number of Hundred teams with IPL owners now as stakeholders comes to four – the Southern Brave, Northern Superchargers, Manchester Originals, and Oval Invincibles.
Although GMR Group’s acquisition of Hampshire last September did not by any means ensure they would become a stakeholder in the Hundred team that shares that venue, it was always likely that the Indian conglomerate would step in first. The ECB has been keen on ensuring fair market value for the Southern Brave was met.
Despite all teams now having had stakes sold, the 2025 season of the Hundred, taking place across July and August, is likely to be transitional in terms of the new stakeholders, and widespread changes are unlikely to take place until 2026.
Of the eight teams, the Northern Superchargers are the only side to be fully owned by an outside investor (India’s Sun Group), while the Manchester Originals are now 70% owned by the owners of the IPL’s Lucknow Super Giants.
The most lucrative deal, meanwhile, saw a consortium of Silicon Valley tech heavyweights pay £145 million for 49% of the London Spirit, who play their home games at the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground in London.
The first team to have a stake sold was the Oval Invincibles from south London, late last week, with 49% bought by India’s Ambani family, which owns the Mumbai Indians team from the IPL.
The whole process got underway in September, with the ECB – who has run the competition up to this point – initially gifting 51% to the counties where the Hundred teams play. The ECB then looked to sell the other 49% in each organization, leaving it up to the host county as to whether any further stake was sold (thereby making an outside investor the majority stakeholder).
