ECB chief executive Richard Gould said the Hundred had enough money to secure the future of the county game for the next “20 to 25 years” after multiple bids were made for each of the eight teams in the second round earlier this week. I was confident that it would be created. Share sale process.
Although the first round received more than 100 bids from 35 parties, there is still a wide range of interested buyers. This is understood to include eight of the 10 IPL team owners and co-owners, as well as US-based sports investors and private equity funds.
Gould confirmed that most investors participated in multiple bids. Once the investor best suited to the interests of one of the eight host teams has been determined, the third and final stage will see the club and county decide on their two preferred partners for the joint venture.
The majority of the funds raised from the 49% stake will be distributed to the 18 counties and MCC, with 10% to recreational gaming. This means the county game will be a huge windfall, but Gould insists it must be used wisely.
“Hopefully if that money is put to really good use it will recapitalize the county game for the next 20 to 25 years,” he said in Hamilton on the eve of the third Test between England and New Zealand.
“We’re not counting the chickens yet, but the purpose of this is to raise significant investment that will go into the game. One of the things that attracts investors is that the money they will invest is a very important part of developing the game. It’s going into the game, and a lot more of it is going into the professional game, and that’s split between hosts and non-hosts.
“The specialist counties have been very keen to explain to us that guardrails need to be put in place. This is likely to focus on things like the level of debt the club has, the level of reserves the club must have and the timing of investments to ensure a financial return. “It’s about making sure that what we’re investing in, or investing in areas like player paths, is an investment for the good of the game.”
