Google, Microsoft CEOs Team Up in Attempt to Buy Cricket Team

A group of Silicon Valley executives is hunting for an English cricket team.

Alphabet Inc.’s Sundar Pichai is part of a group of CEOs that includes Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, Adobe’s Shantanu Narayen, Silver Laker’s Egon Durban, and Palo Alto Network’s Nikesh Arora, who is leading the group’s chase. The news was first reported by Bloomberg. 

The group is putting together a bid of more than $97 million for either the Oval Invincibles or London Spirits, according to Bloomberg, both of which play in The Hundred, an eight-team league in England and Wales that plays in the faster T100 format.

Nadella and Narayen previously invested in Major League Cricket, a six-team league in the United States that launched in 2023.

The Hundred launched in 2021 and has had more than two million people attend games in its short history. The Hundred also has a women’s league. Both leagues have combined to bring in revenue of roughly $73 million annually, from ticket sales, broadcast revenue, and sponsorships, according to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). 

In September, the ECB announced it was searching for additional investors to shore up its finances. The ECB is looking to sell the 49% stake it has in each team, with the option for majority ownership. The London Spirit, one of the group’s two targets, play at Lord’s, an iconic venue that dates back to the early 19th century.