Sun Group which owns IPL team Sunrisers Hyderabad has bought the entire stake of the Northern Superchargers team for more than £100 million. The team is based in Headingley, Yorkshire.
With this, Sun Group becomes the first group to fully own a Hundred team, and the Superchargers become the sixth team to receive such an investment.
Yorkshire Becomes First to Sell Entire Stake in a Hundred Team
The process of investment in Hundred League has intensified, in which stakes of many franchises are being purchased. Recently Mumbai Indians owners bought a 49% stake in Oval Invincibles in a deal worth £60 million while the 51% stake remains with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).
In addition Warwickshire sold a 49% stake in Birmingham Phoenix for £40 million to Knighthead Capital, who own Birmingham City. Glamorgan has also sold 49% stake in Welsh Fire to IT entrepreneur Sanjay Govil.
A group led by MCC and Silicon Valley industrialist Nikesh Arora bought a 49% stake in Lord’s-based London Spirit for £145 million. Similarly, Lancashire sold a 70% stake to the owners of Lucknow Supergiants for £81 million, becoming the first county to do so.
Nottinghamshire are also in the process of selling their 49% stake in Trent Rockets soon. Previously Greek billionaire and Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis was interested in purchasing the club but later abandoned his interest. However, according to reports an unknown IPL franchise has shown interest in it.
The co-owners of Delhi Capitals, who had earlier acquired Hampshire, are now planning to buy Southern Brave.
Nearly £466 million has been raised so far from the sale of the six teams, bringing the total combined value of these teams to £740 million.
Yorkshire’s sale follows a statement from its chairman Colin Graves, in which he said the club would have to become a private entity to overcome the financial crisis. The club still has an outstanding debt of £15 million from the Graves Family Trust.
An exclusive period of eight weeks has been fixed for completing all deals.
It is noteworthy that Sun Group, which recently purchased Northern Superchargers, also owns Sunrisers Eastern Cape in South Africa’s SA20 League.