England and Wales Cricket Board locks in six franchise partners for The Hundred

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has finalised franchise partnerships for six teams in The Hundred, its franchise-based professional cricket competition that's poised to become a hot favourite with fans and one of the most valued sporting properties, with two more deals expected to close soon under an option offered to investors for later completion.

An American tech consortium led by Times Internet chairman Satyan Gajwani and Palo Alto Networks CEO Nikesh Arora has acquired a 49% stake in the Lord's-based London Spirit for £145 million, valuing the team at £295 million. The franchise boasts some other heavy hitters as its backers-Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen, and Silver Lake co-CEO Egon Durban. The group hit the ball out of the park, outbidding the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, and making London Spirit the most valuable franchise in The Hundred to date.

"Being part of London Spirit - and calling the iconic Lord's our home - is a real privilege," said Gajwani. "It's more than a partnership, it's a chance to blend our passion for cricket with our strengths in technology and business to reimagine the fan experience while staying true to the spirit of the game."


The competition is set to benefit from a wide range of expertise across sport, media, technology, and finance with each investor bringing their own perspective and approach, the ECB said.

The completed partnerships include London Spirit with Tech Titans, Birmingham Phoenix with Knighthead Capital Management, Manchester Originals with RPSG Group, Northern Superchargers with Sun TV Network, Southern Brave with GMR Group, and Welsh Fire with Washington Freedom.

Agreements involving Oval Invincibles with Reliance Group and Trent Rockets with Cain International and Ares Management are on track to be finalised, the ECB added.

Collectively, the eight deals value the teams at more than £975 million, with over £500 million committed to investment across the cricket ecosystem in England and Wales. This includes a dedicated £50 million fund for grassroot cricket, while the remainder will be distributed among the professional county system.

This positions The Hundred as the second-most valuable cricket league globally, behind only the Indian Premier League, which is valued at $18.5 billion, according to Houlihan Lokey.

Under the new structure, most investors will collaborate with host clubs and assume operational control of their teams starting October 1, 2025.