IPL team owners may change their names even without having a large stake in the purchase, as ECB is set to sell shares in all eight Hundred sides in September.
According to a report in The Guardian, ECB is desperate for Indian money and even a small share will give the new owners much leverage-which might also come from the fact that every IPL owner is expected to buy into one of these eight teams IANS reported.
A source involved in the sale process was quoted as saying that, “All the IPL owners are saying they will bid, but they will want some control for their cash. It’s just essentially a huge brand play for the IPL so we expect them to push for name changes depending on how much they put in,” says the person.
It further noted that, Ambani family who currently holds Mumbai Indians (five-time IPL winners) and its sister franchises MI New York, MI Emirates and MI Cape Town in the US, UAE and South Africa T20 leagues respectively are eyeing London Spirit which could then be renamed as MI London if the deal goes through.
“The report said ‘London Spirit’ are seen as ‘the jewel in The Hundred auction’s crown’ and could attract bids worth several times more than many other franchises when ECB begins the process of selling 49% of its eight teams next month,” it said. “London Spirit alone might account for 25% of all revenues raised by sales of The Hundred.”
“ECB has been discussing potential investors such as Ryan Reynolds – an American sports franchise owner who is also a screen actor and Avram Glazer – Manchester United proprietor with an interest in buying stakes within The Hundred teams over recent months.”
