Mumbai Indians in The Hundred, Reliance Industries Limited Win 49% stake in Oval Invincibles - Report

Mumbai Indians is reportedly set to be the first Indian Premier League (IPL) presence in The Hundred after the franchise owners won a three-way bidding war in a virtual auction on Thursday (January 30) to acquire 49 per cent stake in the Oval Invincibles.

According to a report in the British media, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), owned by the Ambani family, fended off competition from a Silicon Valley tech consortium, comprising the chief executives of Google, Microsoft, and Adobe, as well as private equity giant CVC, the owners of IPL franchise Gujarat Titans to win a fiercely contested e-auction.

The report also added that RIL has now entered an exclusivity period to finalise agreements with Surrey, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), and financial advisors before completing the purchase.

The winning bid reportedly values the franchise at 123 million pounds, meaning RIL will pay just over 60 million pounds for its 49% stake in the two-time champions Oval Invincibles.

Mumbai Indians is one of the most successful IPL franchises while Surrey is the richest English county club. The Oval Invincibles also can be termed the most successful side in The Hundred, having won the men's and the women's competition two times each since the tournament's inception in 2021.

Oval Invincibles, the two-time defending champion in the men's Hundred, became the first team to be sold in the final round of the ECB's sales process. Meanwhile, Birmingham Phoenix also had successful bidders in Knighthead Capital, the US-based hedge fund.

After the acquisition, Oval Invincibles will become the sixth team under RIL's management, joining Mumbai Indians (IPL and WPL), MI New York (MLC), MI Cape Town (SA20), and MI Emirates (ILT20).

We could see more IPL owners' presence in The Hundred as CVC, who own Gujarat Titans, will be in the mix for 49% stake in London Spirit on Friday (January 31) after reportedly missing out on both the Oval Invincibles and Birmingham Phoenix.

But the GT owners will face competition from Sanjiv Goenka's RPSG (the owners of Lucknow Super Giants), Manchester United co-owner Avram Glazer, and Cain International. Plus, minority stake in Welsh Fire is also expected to be sold on the same day.