Indian-Origin Tech CEOs Bid to Buy London Cricket Team – Bloomberg
A group of Silicon Valley CEOs has reportedly come together to bid for the ownership of a cricket team in London.
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According to Bloomberg, a consortium of global tech CEOs of Indian origin is bidding for a London-based cricket team in The Hundred, a professional league played in England and Wales. The list reportedly includes Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, and Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen.
The bid, led by Palo Alto Networks Inc. CEO Nikesh Arora and Times Internet Limited Vice Chairman Satyan Gajwani, is said to offer $97 million for one of two teams: Oval Invincibles or London Spirit.
The Hundred is marketed in England as a modern cricket format designed to attract younger fans and families. Launched in 2021, the league features 100-ball matches with simplified rules, making the game faster and more accessible. Since its inception, the league has drawn over two million attendees across its eight venues in England and Wales.
To bolster the league’s financial position, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) invited private investors to bid for stakes in the league's eight teams in September. The ECB is offering a 49% stake in each team, with the option for full ownership.
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, known for his love of cricket, aims to capitalize on the sport’s growing global popularity. Recently, Pichai congratulated the Indian team on their victory over South Africa in the 2024 T20 World Cup final, calling it "well-deserved." Millions of cricket fans in India celebrated the win. Similarly, Satya Nadella and Shantanu Narayen invested $120 million in 2022 to establish a professional T20 cricket league in the United States, promoting the sport there.
The Indian-origin CEOs reportedly hope to replicate the success of the Indian Premier League (IPL), which saw its valuation rise by 6.5% last year to $16.4 billion. In England, where cricket originated, London Spirit is particularly attractive to investors due to its home ground at Lord’s, often referred to as the "Home of Cricket."
Combined, the men's and women's Hundred competitions generate approximately £60 million ($73 million) annually for the ECB through broadcasting, sponsorship, and ticket sales.
