Ambanis acquire stake in London cricket team Oval Invincibles: report

The Ambani family, which runs Reliance Industries Ltd, has acquired a stake in London cricket team Oval Invincibles, outbidding private equity (PE) firms and Silicon Valley executives, Bloomberg reported, citing a person familiar with the matter.

The Ambanis, who also own the Mumbai Indians franchise in the Indian Premier League (IPL), will acquire a 49% stake in the team, the report said.

Earlier this month, a consortium that included Alphabet Inc. chief executive officer (CEO) Sundar Pichai, and led by Palo Alto Networks Inc. CEO Nikesh Arora and Times Internet Ltd vice-chairman Satyan Gajwani had placed a bid of more than £80 million (about $97 million) for either the Oval Invincibles or London Spirit, Bloomberg had reported.

The teams play in The Hundred, a short-form tournament in England and Wales that is drawing younger fans and families.

In The Hundred, which debuted in 2021, each team faces 100 balls. The game features simpler rules, along with half-time entertainment.

English cricket had last year rolled out the auction process for the eight teams across England and Wales in a bid to boost funding.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is selling the 49% stake it holds in each of the eight teams. The host venues can decide to keep their share or sell all or part of them.

A spokesperson for ECB declined to comment, while Reliance Industries Ltd did not respond to a request from comment.

The Oval stake sale is said to be the first to be agreed.

Both London Spirit and Oval Invincibles are seen as valuable franchises as they play their home matches in the capital.

The other teams in the Hundred are Birmingham Phoenix, Manchester Originals, Northern Superchargers, Southern Brave, Trent Rockets, and Welsh Fire.

Financial details of the Ambanis’ winning bid were not disclosed.

Getting the Ambanis on board was the first step to convincing the Indian cricket board, which does not permit its players to take part in overseas tournaments, to ease rules and participate in the Hundred, Bloomberg reported

The auction is being run by Raine Group, the investment bank that previously advised on the sale of Manchester United and Chelsea football clubs.

The ECB this week announced the fixtures for the fifth season of the Hundred, with the tournament set to open between rivals London Spirit and Oval Invincibles at Lord’s on 5 August.

The final is scheduled for 31 August at Lord’s, with the eliminator slated for The Oval on 30 August.