England Cricket Board finalises procedure for private investment in The Hundred

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is pushing forward with plans to bring private investment into The Hundred tournament. The board has finalized its financial and legal advisors to assist with selling stakes in the eight Hundred teams to outside investors. The board believes this move will boost The Hundred to become the world's second-biggest franchise league behind only the IPL.

Earlier this month, the 18 first-class counties in England and Wales gave their approval to the ECB to proceed with privatizing portions of The Hundred teams. Under the proposed model, the counties stand to receive significant financial bonuses from the sale of team shares to private bodies.

The ECB will share a 51% stake in each of the eight teams to the respective host counties free of charge. The counties can then choose whether to retain all, some, or none of those shares. The board will sell its remaining 49% stake, with 10% of proceeds going to the recreational game and the rest divided amongst the counties.

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Will help us unlock the future potential of the Hundred: Vikram Banerjee

"We have identified this moment as the opportunity to take the Hundred to the next level while capitalizing on the global interest in the competition to underpin the structure of the whole domestic game. The opportunity to engage new global strategic partners will help us unlock the future potential of the Hundred," Vikram Banerjee, the ECB's director of business operations said as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

The financial advisors at Raine Group will lead the process of sourcing investment partners and negotiating deal terms. Deloitte will provide strategic advice, while the law firms of Latham & Watkins and Onside Law will handle the legal affairs.

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"The ambition is to seek partners with the expertise to help take the competition to the next level while ensuring any investment benefits the whole of the game," the board said.

With the sale process now officially underway, the ECB hopes to complete private investment deals for The Hundred Teams. This would allow a revamped competition with the new investors in place for the 2025 season.