Sun Group wins bid for Northern Superchargers franchise at £100 million

Kalanithi Maran's Sun Group has acquired a 100% stake in The Hundred's Northern Superchargers for £100 million, purchasing both the England and Wales Cricket Board's (ECB) 49% share and Yorkshire's 51% share.

Sun Group, which also owns the leading Indian broadcaster Sun TV Network, becomes the third IPL franchise owner to successfully bid for a team in The Hundred.

This acquisition makes Sun Group-also the owner of the Indian Premier League (IPL) team Sunrisers Hyderabad-the first to fully own a franchise in The Hundred, the ECB's 100-ball competition featuring eight teams. Additionally, Sun Group owns the Sunrisers Eastern Cape team in South Africa's SA20 league.


The ECB is selling a 49% stake in each team, while counties have the option to sell part or all of their 51% ownership. Yorkshire County Cricket Club has become the first county to sell its entire 51% stake.

On Monday, Sanjiv Goenka's RPSG Group, owners of the IPL's Lucknow Super Giants, won a bid to acquire a stake in Manchester Originals, valuing the team at £107 million. Sources suggest that RPSG has purchased a majority 70% stake, marking a significant expansion into English cricket.

This follows RPSG's unsuccessful bid for London Spirit, which was outbid by a tech consortium led by Times Internet's Satyan Gajwani and Palo Alto's Nikesh Arora. The consortium, which also includes Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, acquired a 49% stake in London Spirit for £145 million, valuing the team at £295 million.

The bidding process for The Hundred franchises is nearing its conclusion, with final bids closing this week. Each deal will now enter an eight-week exclusivity period to finalise the terms.