‘A huge milestone’ – Yorkshire sell entire Hundred stake as Sunrisers invest

Yorkshire became the first team to consent to selling the entirety of a Hundred team.

The Sun Group, owners of Indian Premier League side Sunrisers Hyderabad, have paid just over £100m for a 100% stake in Northern Superchargers, who are based at Yorkshire’s home Headingley.

The Sun Group became the first franchise to formally occupy full ownership of a franchise after the Superchargers became the sixth team to do so.

Sunrisers are “renowned around the world,” according to a statement from Yorkshire, and the partnership will “supercharge the success of the team, and Yorkshire cricket, in the upcoming years.”

Chief executive Sanjay Patel said the agreement was “a huge milestone” for the county.

It is obvious that they are in tune with the club’s values and future plans and will play a significant role in making sure we can continue to achieve great success in the coming years, he added.

Surrey and the Mumbai Indians’ owners purchased a 49% stake in the Oval Invincibles last week for £60 million, while the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) gave them a 51% stake.

Birmingham Phoenix was sold for 49% to Birmingham City owners Knighthead Capital for £40 million, and Glamorgan sold Welsh Fire to IT entrepreneur Sanjay Govil for similar amounts for £40 million.

MCC and a Silicon Valley consortium led by Nikesh Arora reached a deal for 70% of the originals with the Lucknow Super Giants owners for about £81 million, which included a price of £145 million for the 49% of Lord’s-based London Spirit.

In the upcoming days, Nottinghamshire will also sell a 49% stake in Trent Rockets.

Evangelos Marinakis, a billionaire Greek shipping mogul with the fortune of Nottingham Forest, made a bid for the Rockets last year.

However, a source close to the bidding said Marinakis did not follow up on his initial interest in the Trent Bridge-based franchise.

Nottinghamshire has not made any public bids from the IPL, but at least one unnamed team is said to be interested.

After purchasing hosts Hampshire, Southern Brave are likely to turn to Delhi Capitals’ co-owners.

The six sales so far come to a total of around £466m, the majority of which will be split among the 18 first-class counties, Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and recreational game.

This results in a total value of about £740 million for the six teams.

Yorkshire’s sale comes after chair Colin Graves said the club, which is owned by members, must become a private structure in order to survive a financial crisis.

The Graves family trust is responsible for almost £1 million in overall debt, with more than £20 million in debt.

However, with the county set to bank almost £60m thanks to the sale of the Hundred franchises, the controversial plans could be scrapped.

All deals now enter an eight-week exclusivity period in order to finalise the partnerships.