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Sunrisers Hyderabad will fully own the Northern Superchargers by buying the franchise for £100 million, helping Yorkshire clear a £15 million debt.
Selling the Superchargers could help Yorkshire. (Credit: The Hundred/FB)
Indian Premier League side Sunrisers Hyderabad are set to become the first 100 percent owners of an English cricket Hundred franchise after agreeing to buy Yorkshire’s Northern Superchargers for a reported £100 million ($125 million).
As per a BBC report, The Sun Group would be the first organisation to buy an entire Hundred team.
“We are delighted to be entering into an exclusivity period with the Sun Group, and will be continuing our conversations with them in the coming weeks with a view to setting the Northern Superchargers up for long-term and sustained success,” Yorkshire chief executive Sanjay Patel said later Wednesday.
Patel, previously the managing director of the Hundred, added: “It is clear that they are aligned to the values and future direction of the club and will play a huge part in ensuring we can go on to achieve great success in the coming years.”
Selling the Superchargers could help Yorkshire, one of the cornerstones of English cricket, clear a £15 million debt the club owes to a trust established by chairman Colin Graves.
All deals now enter an eight-week exclusivity period in order to finalise the partnerships.
The Superchargers have yet to enjoy much success in the Hundred, a 100 balls per side competition where teams field both men’s and women’s sides. But they do have high-profile figures in men’s head coach Andrew Flintoff and star players such as Harry Brook and Adil Rashid.
GMR could acquire a 49 percent share in Southern Brave.
The England and Wales Cricket Board, who have so far declined to comment, are seeking partners for 49 percent stakes in each Hundred team, with the host clubs gifted the other 51 percent.
Last week, a Silicon Valley consortium led by Nikesh Arora, an Indian-American who heads up US cyber-security company Palo Alto Networks, agreed to buy 49 percent of the Lord’s-based London Spirit franchise for a reported £145 million.
Warwickshire and Glamorgan, meanwhile, have also agreed 49 percent deals for the Birmingham Phoenix and Welsh Fire respectively, with a stake in Trent Rockets up for grabs as well.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – AFP)
