Surrey-based team become first to be sold off in ECB equity sale, as giants of IPL secure winning bid
Matt Roller and Nagraj Gollapudi30-Jan-2025Mumbai Indians owners Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) are set to buy a 49% stake in Oval Invincibles after winning a virtual auction on Thursday afternoon. RIL will enter into a period of exclusivity which will see them negotiate agreements with Surrey, the ECB and their financial advisors before completing the purchase.Reports on Thursday night suggested that Knighthead Capital, the US-based hedge fund, were the successful bidders in the process for Birmingham Phoenix. Knighthead, who bought Birmingham City Football Club in 2023, are investing heavily in the city, including the development of a new ‘sports quarter’. This would be their first foray into the cricketing world.RIL’s winning bid for the Invincibles was understood to value 100% of the franchise at £123 million, implying they will pay just over £60m for its 49% stake. The ECB declined to comment and are not expected to confirm successful bidders – or valuations – until next week. Both Surrey and Warwickshire declined to comment.ESPNcricinfo understands that RIL saw off competition from a Silicon Valley tech consortium (involving the chief executives of Google, Microsoft and Adobe), and private equity firm CVC. The Invincibles, two-time defending champions in the men’s Hundred and two-time women’s champions, are the first team to be sold in the final round of the ECB’s sales process.The deal will see two heavyweights of their respective markets coming together: Mumbai Indians are widely seen as the most powerful IPL franchise, while Surrey are the richest English county club. The Invincibles will become the sixth team run by RIL, after Mumbai Indians (in both the IPL and WPL), MI New York (MLC), MI Cape Town (SA20) and MI Emirates (ILT20).RIL, owned by the Ambani family, were widely linked with buying a stake in London Spirit, the Hundred team based at Lord’s, but moved their focus towards the Invincibles as the sales process went on. Host venues were given the option to sell some of the 51% stake that they will be gifted by the ECB as part of the privatisation process, but ESPNcricinfo understands that Surrey have held firm on their stance that they will retain their controlling shares.Related
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Chairman Oli Slipper told the Surrey’s members last month that the club “must and will retain the controlling stake” in the Invincibles, and that they had been “totally transparent” with prospective investors that this represented a “clear red line” for them. Slipper has previously proposed renaming the team as ‘Surrey Invincibles’ though RIL will likely have a say in any future rebranding.CVC, who own Gujarat Titans in the IPL, were also believed to be in the sale process for a stake in Birmingham Phoenix but appear to have missed out on both of the first two teams sold. The tech consortium, meanwhile, will be in the mix for a 49% stake in London Spirit on Friday but face competition from Sanjiv Goenka’s RPSG (the owners of Lucknow Super Giants), Manchester United co-owner Avram Glazer, and Cain International. A minority stake in Welsh Fire will also be sold on the same day.ESPNcricinfo revealed details of the final-round process on Monday, which sees prospective investors enter a sealed bidding process (if two bidders remain) or a live auction (if three or more remain). Stakes in Manchester Originals, Northern Superchargers and Trent Rockets will be available next week, with Southern Brave – who are being treated as a unique case by the ECB, since hosts Hampshire are privately owned by GMR – the final team up for grabs.The ECB believes that funds raised from the sale of stakes in the eight Hundred teams will “future-proof” county cricket for the next 20-25 years. The revenue from the sale will be split between the 18 first-class counties, MCC and the recreational game in England and Wales.The Hundred’s fifth season is likely to look similar to the previous four, with the ECB treating 2025 as a transitional year. The tournament’s fixtures were announced on Wednesday, with the season due to run from August 5-31 and thereby avoiding a clash with Major League Cricket.