The majority shareholder of Hampshire County Cricket Club is in advanced talks to sell its shares to the co-owners of Indian Premier League team Delhi Capitals.
Telegraph Sport understands Rod Bransgrove is close to agreeing a sale to GMR Group, which owns part-owners of the Delhi Capitals.
The deal will be a landmark one and will make Hampshire the first county owned by an overseas franchise.
Insiders believe the benefits of buying a county for GMR include gaining a foothold in the English game, the opportunity to develop its own players and a “first mover advantage” when hundreds of franchises are available for investment. Options being examined by the ECB include transferring a 50 percent stake in Hundred teams to the host country to be sold to investors if they wish, as was the case with Southern Brave in the Ageas Bowl case.
The business, which included the Test match hosting the Ageas Bowl, a hotel, golf course and club, was valued at around £100 million, according to last year’s Back From The Brink book about Bransgrove’s time in Hampshire, but also It was of great value. £60m debt.
Bransgrove, who was widely praised for saving Hampshire during his 23-year tenure, stepped down as chairman at the end of last year but remains the majority shareholder, owning more than 60 per cent of the business.
Hampshire is one of three non-members counties, along with Northamptonshire and Durham, which leaves Bransgrove free for sale without fan input. However, in the coming months, as the game changes rapidly, more districts are expected to move away from the member-owned model.
Bransgrove, who made his money in the pharmaceutical industry, has had a transformative impact as he leads Hampshire through the development of the Ageas Bowl, which will host the first Ashes Test in 2027. It is also scheduled to host Tests against India in 2029, along with 2030 and Old Trafford where international cricket has been allowed to continue to be played during the pandemic.
It has been known for some time that he has been trying to sell his shares in the club, and after resigning last month he wrote in an open letter to fans: “Finally and most importantly, although I resign, I resign. Not to abandon. It is now important to ensure our Ashes 2027 plans are supported by long-term financial security.” “I have a role to play. I promised at the outset that Hampshire Cricket would never face bankruptcy again, and I intend to keep that commitment without putting my foot down.”
GMR has a portfolio of world-class cricket teams. Delhi Capitals has a 50 per cent stake in both the IPL and the Women’s Premier League, with the other half held by another Indian conglomerate, JSW Group. GMR also owns a stake in Dubai Capitals in the UAE’s ILT20 and Seattle Orcas in the US’s Major League Cricket. Pretoria Capitals, another subsidiary of the Delhi franchise in South Africa’s SA20 region, is owned by JSW.
Hundred is now almost certain that the England and Wales Cricket Board’s controversial short-form tournament will be opened to private investment and IPL franchises, including the Capitals, later this year.
Bransgrove’s successor as chairman and longtime colleague Nick Pike discussed the potential investment in Hundred on Wednesday.
“There is a significant amount of money in the game at the moment, especially in the subcontinent,” he said. “If we don’t realize this, it means we are playing with our eyes and ears closed.”
This isn’t the first time Hampshire has been linked with an IPL team. Between 2010 and 2013, Hampshire had a partnership with IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals, which saw them play T20 cricket as Hampshire Royals. They are now the Hampshire Hawks. The Royals are owned by British-Indian businessman Manoj Badale, who explored buying Yorkshire last year. He also owned a company called Investors In Cricket, which ran Leicestershire’s commercial arm in the 2000s, shortly before the IPL changed the face of the game in 2008.
A spokesperson for Hampshire said: “Hampshire Sport & Leisure Holdings Ltd has made no secret of the fact that it has been investigating a number of investment options for some time and in the course of these investigations the Company has been contacted by a number of investment options. The parties are subject to confidentiality terms
“While it is true that the Company is fully involved in some detailed discussions regarding the investment, the nature and content of such investigations are governed by formal Confidentiality Agreements with which the Company is obliged to comply.
“To date, we have not signed any formal binding agreements other than confidentiality agreements. “We therefore reiterate that we cannot comment further on the status of our negotiations until we have something to announce.”
Bransgrove has also been contacted for comment.