India’s wealthiest family and the Tom Brady-backed owners of Birmingham City have agreed deals worth a combined £100m for the first two stakes of teams in The Hundred.
In Thursday’s first pair of sales, a 49% stake in Oval Invincibles was won by Reliance Industries Limited, owned by the multi-billionaire Ambani family. Reliance is also in charge of Indian Premier League team Mumbai Indians.
Knighthead Capital, the US group that includes legendary NFL quarterback Brady, then agreed to buy 49% in Birmingham Phoenix. Knighthead invested in Birmingham City in 2023.
County clubs Surrey and Warwickshire, the hosts of Invincibles and Phoenix respectively, opted to retain the 51% shares in each franchise gifted to them by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).
The Invincibles and Phoenix auctions were the first two to offer stakes in teams in The Hundred, with the remaining six taking place in the coming days.
A 100% stake in Invincibles was valued at about £120m, making the 49% deal worth about £60m. Phoenix were rated at about £80m, which values that 49% deal at £40m and puts total sales to date at approximately £100m.
The winning bidders now enter an eight-week period of exclusivity in order to finalise the partnerships.
Surrey, Warwickshire and the ECB declined to comment.
The deal for the Invincibles means they will be affiliated with a Mumbai Indians group that includes men’s teams in the United States, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates, and a team in India’s Women’s Premier League.
The Invincibles’ men are two-time and current Hundred champions, while the women were winners in both 2021 and 2022.
Phoenix’s men were beaten in the inaugural final in 2021, while the women have never finished higher than third.
