Cricket Competition Earns $484M Offer

The England and Wales Cricket Board has received a majority stake offer for the Hundred, a cricket competition that began last year.

Buyout firm Bridgepoint Group has made a $484.2 million bid for a 75% stake in the competition, according to Sky Sports, but the offer isn’t expected to succeed. 

“Rights holders have never seen a rise like the one they have [recently], and the Hundred will undoubtedly get more and more interest,” ECB chair Richard Thompson recently said, adding, “The worst thing would be to do something too early, then see the value go through the roof, and you’ve lost out and someone else benefits.” 

“It’s just two years old, we can’t get greedy, we have to see it play out.”

• The Hundred’s second season drew more than 500,000 attendees.
• More than 14 million people watched some of the tournament on Sky Sports and the BBC.
• The ECB’s current deal with Sky Sports ends in 2024 and is worth $260 million annually. 

The Hundred is locked in for at least four more years after Sky Sports extended its rights deal in July with the ECB until 2028.

Bridgepoint’s Business

Bridgepoint Group owns Dorna Sports — MotoGP’s commercial rights holder — and was reportedly interested in a Women’s Super League minority stake. Bridgepoint also reportedly showed interest in investing in the media rights businesses for Ligue 1 and the Bundesliga.