Hampshire owners snap up Southern Brave stake as Hundred sale hits £1bn

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English cricket completed arguably its greatest transformation in living memory on Wednesday after Southern Brave became the eighth and final franchise to be bought in the landmark Hundred sale.

As expected, Hampshire’s owners GMR Group – co-owners of Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League – have secured the 49% stake that was on offer from the England and Wales Cricket Board. It means the county, previously gifted 51% by the ECB, will take full control of Southern Brave once the final details are ironed out.

The deal has reportedly seen GMR Group pay £48million for the ECB’s stake in Southern Brave, placing the team’s overall valuation at £98m. After a 49% share of Trent Rockets was secured by Chelsea owner Todd Boehly’s Cain International on Tuesday for for a tick under £40m, the overall valuation of the eight teams is likely to be approaching a combined £1billion.

Quick Guide

The Hundred: who has bought what

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Oval Invincibles

Valuation £123m

Host club Surrey

Investor Reliance Industries, owners of Mumbai Indians, bought 49% for £60m

Birmingham Phoenix

Valuation £81m

Host club Warwickshire

Investor Knighthead Capital, owners of Birmingham City FC, bought 49% for £40m

London Spirit

Valuation £295m

Host club MCC

Investor Cricket Investor Holdings Limited, a Silicon Valley consortium, bought 49% for £144m

Welsh Fire

Valuation £81m

Host club Glamorgan

Investor IT entrepreneur Sanjay Govil, owner of Washington Freedom in Major League Cricket, bought 49% for £40m

Manchester Originals

Valuation £116m

Host club Lancashire

Investor RPSG Group, owners of Lucknow Super Giants, bought 70% for £81m

Northern Superchargers

Valuation £100m

Host club Yorkshire

Investor Sun Group, owners of Sunrisers Hyderabad, bought 100%

Trent Rockets

Valuation £80m

Host club Nottinghamshire

Investor Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly’s Cain International bought 49% for £39m

Southern Brave

Valuation TBC

Host club Hampshire

Investor GMR Group, Hampshire majority shareholders and co-owners of Delhi Capitals, bought the ECB's 49% stake

Hampshire’s status as a privately-owned county made the Southern Brave deal unique among the eight teams being sold off. It also means four of the eight Hundred franchises now have investment from IPL teams following deals for Northern Superchargers (Sunrisers Hyderabad), Manchester Originals (Lucknow Super Giants) and Oval Invincibles (Mumbai Indians).

Richard Thompson, the ECB chair, previously stated he did not want the Hundred sale to become “an IPL takeover” and should be satisfied with the outcome after Birmingham Phoenix (Knighthead Capital), Welsh Fire (Tech entrepreneur Sanjay Govil), London Spirit (Silicon Valley consortium) and Trent Rockets (Cain) all attracted investment from elsewhere.

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