CVC Capital Partners is in talks about buying one of the Hundred franchises in what would be the first private equity investment in English cricket. The England and Wales Cricket Board issued sales decks for the eight franchises to interested parties on Friday and all 10 Indian Premier League owners are set to compete with CVC in a complex sales process it is hoped will be completed by Christmas.
CVC is understood to be primarily targeting the Oval Invincibles and the private equity investors’ executives have attended matches at the south London ground this summer. The move could provoke a backlash from cricket supporters, however, and may even be opposed by the host club, Surrey, who intend to keep hold of their 51% stake in the Invincibles.
The Oval franchise is widely viewed as most attractive in the Hundred auction after London Spirit, who are based at Lord’s and are wanted by the Mumbai Indians owners, the Ambani family. The ECB is hoping to raise about £500m by selling 49% of the eight franchises, with insiders saying the London teams are valued at about £300m between them.
The Invincibles have been by far the most successful team in the Hundred, winning the women’s competition in 2021 and 2022 and the men’s competition for the last two years. Surrey are also a thriving business in their own right with a turnover of £65.4m last year, however, and have the resources to retain majority control.
It is unclear at this stage whether CVC would be happy with a minority investment at the Oval or would seek full control at another franchise. All the 10 IPL franchises have expressed interest in Hundred teams, with the Delhi Capitals and Sunrisers Hyderabad set to snap up Southern Brave and Northern Superchargers, respectively, after entering advance talks to buy from Hampshire and Yorkshire.
The ECB has targeted the IPL and North American owners such as Avram Glazer and Ryan Reynolds during initial talks over selling their 49% share in the eight teams this summer, but are understood to be open to selling to private equity.
There have been about 200 initial expressions of interest, with about 60 to 70 regarded as serious bidders, who have all signed a non-disclosure agreement to receive the sales prospectus. Prospective new owners have until the end of October to submit a bid to the ECB and the Raine Group, who are also permitting bidders to make offers for several teams.
CVC has a successful history of cricket investments after paying £550m two years ago for a controlling interest in the then new IPL franchise Gujarat Titans, who went on to win the 2022 title in their first year. The Luxembourg-based company is in talks to double their money by selling a majority stake in the Titans to two Indian conglomerates, the Adani Group and Torrent Group.
CVC’s involvement in British sport has been less successful, with a £700m investment in rugby union yet to deliver a return. CVC paid £230m for a 27% in Premiership Rugby six years ago before spending £120m on 30%of Pro14 Rugby 12 months later, investments which have not delivered the desired results.
The CVC money was largely squandered on player costs, and Worcester Warriors, Wasps and London Irish have since gone bust. There were also problems in CVC’s relationship with the clubs on an institutional level, with their recommendation of Darren Childs as Premiership Rugby chief executive backfiring and leading to his departure after less than two years.
CVC also paid £365m for a 14.3% stake in the Six Nations’ media and commercial income in 2021. While the Six Nations remains hugely profitable, with television revenues of £130m this year, there has been no growth for the unions elsewhere, with a move to sell TV rights to their other internationals collectively bringing little success.
TNT Sports picked up the rights for the next two years’ autumn internationals for a knockdown rate as there were no other serious bidders, while the Rugby Football Union was unable to find a broadcast partner for June’s international between England and Japan, which was streamed on Rugby Pass TV.
The ECB turned down a £400m offer to buy 75% of the Hundred from the London-based Bridgepoint Group two years ago. The decision to reject that bid was due to differences in valuation and the governing body preferring a different sales model, rather than opposition to a private equity sale.
CVC declined to comment on this story.
