Mumbai, October 22: Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Lucknow Super Giants are among the IPL franchises who have submitted bids to acquire teams in the English Cricket Board-run The Hundred, according to a report. The GMR Group, recently named the new owner of Hampshire, and Avram Glazer, co-owner of Manchester United Football Club, also submitted bids before the ECB's October 18 deadline for potential investors, reported ESPNCricinfo. IPL Franchises and Manchester United Co-Owners Showing Interest in ‘The Hundred’? Report Shows Top Bidders Compete For Stake in ECB’s Short Format Cricket Tournament.

The ECB has invited bids for a 49 per cent stake in each of the eight franchises, with the board retaining majority control. One of the main concerns for IPL franchises was whether they would be "happy being passive investors".

"Expressions of interest could be for all eight teams, which would be culled to four in the next step which will start in November when the investors get to meet the host counties of each Hundred franchise. Following that, investors would need to prune their wishlist to four teams, as part of the second stage, which will then come down to two teams of which they would need to make their final choice." stated the report. Delhi Capitals Co-Owners GMR Group Acquires Majority Stake in English County Club Hampshire.

The ECB is aiming to finalise investors by early 2025 but is committed to a deliberate approach to avoid "underselling what it believes is a valuable product". ECB chairman Richard Thompson has also mentioned the possibility of a "hybrid" ownership model, where some teams remain under ECB control while others are sold to private investors. The report further says while several IPL franchises showed early interest, not all followed through with bids.

"Punjab Kings opted out, while there has been no confirmation on whether five-times IPL champions Chennai Super Kings and equity major CVC Capital Partners, which owns Gujarat Titans, have submitted bids. Global sports investors INEOS, owned by Jim Ratcliffe, which owns a 27% stake in Manchester United and run the football club's operations wing, have also opted out of bidding."  it added.

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