Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), owner of the Mumbai Indians, is set to purchase a 49% stake in the Oval Invincibles. The virtual auction for acquiring shares took place at the headquarters of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on Thursday, January 30, with RIL winning after competing against two other bidders. They would now negotiate agreements with Surrey, ECB officials, and financial advisors to close the deal.
The ECB also gave each winning bidder the option to purchase some or all of the remaining 51% from the county clubs. However, Surrey, one of the wealthiest of England’s county sides, has again stood firm and refused to negotiate on the percentage, insisting instead that they shall maintain their majority share.
The franchise is said to have been fully valued at approximately £123 million. Additionally, RIL will pay just over £60 million for its stake. Meanwhile, no statement was issued by either ECB or Surrey officials for the press to comment on until the conclusion of the process has been reached. A statement is expected to be made available in about a week.
Apart from RIL, there were others interested in acquiring the two-time Twenty20 champions. One of the interested bidders was the tech consortium involving the chief executives of Google, Microsoft, and Adobe, while CVC, the owner of the Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League, was also quite serious about the opportunity.
As things stand, Oval Invincibles will be RIL’s sixth team in the franchise cricket world. They currently own the Mumbai Indians and Mumbai Indians women in the IPL and WPL respectively as well as MI Cape Town in SA20, MI Emirates in ILT20, and MI New York in Major League Cricket.