Yorkshire poised to be the first county to offload entire hundred stakes in £100m deal with IPL’s Sun Group for Northern Superchargers

Yorkshire are set to make history, becoming the first county to sell a complete 100 per cent stake in their Hundred team. They have agreed to a reported £100 million deal with the Sun Group, owners of the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Kalanithi Maran’s Sun Group, which also owns Sunrisers Eastern Cape in South Africa’s T20 league, emerged as the victor after a bidding war for an initial 49 per cent of the Headingley-based Northern Superchargers. Sources suggest they swiftly followed up by securing Yorkshire’s 51 per cent host’s share, giving them sole control of the Superchargers.

Despite lacking tangible success in the competition’s four seasons, the team boasts international star quality, including men’s head coach Andrew Flintoff and players such as Harry Brook, Adil Rashid, and Kate Cross.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has now auctioned shares in six of its eight city-based sides, amassing around £450 million, pending finalisation of terms. A staggering £145 million of that came from a Silicon Valley consortium’s winning bid for the London Spirit, based at Lord’s. Notably, three successful bidders have IPL affiliations: RPSG (Lucknow Super Giants) with Manchester Originals, and Reliance (Mumbai Indians) partnering with Surrey at Oval Invincibles.

The ECB will distribute money from its 49 per cent holdings across the 18 first-class counties, along with a donation to grassroots cricket. Hosts like Yorkshire benefit from the other 51 per cent. For Yorkshire, this considerable Indian windfall should address long-standing financial problems that have, at times, threatened the club’s viability. The spectre of a £15 million debt to the Graves family trust has loomed large over Yorkshire, but this deal could erase it in one fell swoop, avoiding plans to demutualise the club and end its members’ club status.

Yorkshire’s chief executive Sanjay Patel, formerly managing director of The Hundred, hailed the news, stating: “We are delighted to be entering into an exclusivity period with the Sun Group, and will be continuing our conversations with them in the coming weeks with a view to setting the Northern Superchargers up for long-term and sustained success.”

“Having been in consultation with them for some time now, it is clear that they are aligned with the values and future direction of the club and will play a huge part in ensuring we can go on to achieve great success in the coming years.”

“Today is clearly a huge milestone for Yorkshire CCC, the Northern Superchargers and the Sun Group, but it is worth stressing that there is a lot of detail to be discussed alongside further due diligence and legal processes before a contract can be signed.”

The Superchargers auction was deliberately pushed back, allowing unsuccessful bidders from earlier sessions to re-enter negotiations with Yorkshire, maximising the potential return.

Trent Rockets and Southern Brave will soon be up for grabs, with Hampshire owners GMR likely to acquire the latter, marking another 100 per cent owner takeover.

Warwickshire have publicly discussed Knighthead Capital Management’s investment in Birmingham Phoenix. Chief executive Stuart Cain said Knighthead demonstrated a “strong financial commitment and a deep understanding” of high-performance sport, adding they have the potential to “promote Birmingham Phoenix to cricket and sports fans around the world.”