Photo Credit: Twitter Profile Photo of @TomBrady
NFL legend Tom Brady may soon be seen at Edgbaston after Knighthead Capital Management LLC, where he is a business partner, acquired a stake in Hundred franchise Birmingham Phoenix. ESPNcricinfo has learned that Knighthead secured the stake with a winning bid of £82 million on Thursday, the opening day of the ECB’s sale of the eight Hundred franchises.
Knighthead’s bid valued Phoenix at £82 million, meaning they will pay approximately £41 million for a 49% stake. No official comments have been made by the ECB, Warwickshire (Phoenix’s host county), or Knighthead regarding the deal.
Brady’s association with Knighthead could boost the Hundred by attracting fan and commercial interest to cricket, a sport that has long sought to expand its reach. He already has a presence in Birmingham, having acquired a minority stake in Birmingham City, an English third-tier football club.
Knighthead was declared the winning bidder through the ECB’s sealed bid process, which involved only two shortlisted investors. While global fund manager CVC Capital was initially expected to be in contention for Phoenix, it remains unconfirmed whether they submitted a bid.
Knighthead, which purchased Birmingham City in 2023, has gained favor with the club’s supporters despite its relegation to League One last season. Tom Wagner, Knighthead’s co-founder and Birmingham City chairman, has committed to investing over £2 billion in a new “sports quarter” in the city and has acquired a 48-acre site for a new stadium.
In another auction on Thursday, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), owners of Mumbai Indians, secured a 49% stake in Oval Invincibles with a bid of approximately £123 million, surpassing CVC Capital and a consortium of technology executives from Microsoft, Google, Adobe, Palo Alto Networks, and Times Digital.
RIL was also shortlisted for Manchester Originals and reportedly had productive discussions with Surrey, Invincibles’ host county, regarding cricketing strategies. Invincibles, winners of the last two men’s Hundred titles, align with RIL’s focus on backing competitive T20 franchises.
The losing bids from CVC and the tech consortium have not been confirmed. The ECB’s live auction process required bidders to submit code names and place incremental bids of £3 million every 15 minutes.
Winning bidders have up to eight weeks to finalize agreements, deciding whether to pay upfront or in instalments over five years. The ECB’s auction process is set to conclude on February 10.
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Name of Author: Cricexec Staff
