ECB seeking investment from IPL franchises in "The Hundred"

ECB has not managed to grab the eyeballs that were expected of “The Hundred”.

England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has held discussions with IPL franchise owners, private equity groups, and sovereign wealth funds about the possibility of investing in The Hundred, and hopes that counties will make a decision on its future in the early months of 2024 season.

The Hundred’s current concept has eight clubs that field both men’s and women’s team and are fully owned by ECB. In the first three seasons of the competition, these clubs were led by boards comprised of county delegates and independent directors.

Currently, ECB’s preferred option is to open the event to private investors, viewing The Hundred as a way to inject money into English game. The model’s specifics are still being debated, with one potential involving the creation of two new clubs, most likely based in the south-west and north-east.

However, ECB and counties have been debating the idea since the end of 2023 season. They are in the second of three phases of consultation, to decide in April 2024. This enables them to make adjustments for the tournament’s 2025 edition.

MCC urges members to consider potential investors for The Hundred

Guy Lavender and Bruce Carnegie-Brown, MCC’s chief executive and chair, told members in a meeting on Monday evening that ECB has been speaking to a wide range of potential sources of capital including IPL franchise owners, private equity firms, and sovereign wealth funds.

Lavender told ESPNcricinfo in a statement: “The purpose of the Members’ informal meeting was to socialise some of the issues with the membership regarding the future direction of The Hundred, including developing thinking and engaging them with the information available at this time.

At present, nothing has been proposed or decided and it is premature to land on any particular conclusions until the ECB consultation and decision-making process involving the whole game has been completed, as well as our own consultation with Members.”

This opens the chance for middle eastern investment in The Hundred, either from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) or the several state-owned entities in United Arab Emirates. MCC also advised members to think about which possible investors they would be comfortable partnering with.

Following reports a year ago of a £400 million bid for a 75% share from a British private investment firm, the ECB and counties contemplated opening up The Hundred itself to corporate investors rather than the teams.

The Hundred’s business concept is unique on a worldwide scale, and it is most analogous to Australia’s Big Bash League, in which clubs are managed by state boards. This is in contrast to the majority of other major T20 tournaments, such as IPL, where teams are owned by individual investors or their firms.

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