Sundar Pichai Joins Tech CEOs in Bid for London Cricket Team
Alphabet Inc. Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai has joined a group of Silicon Valley executives in a bid to buy a London-based cricket team, according to people familiar with the matter. The consortium, led by Palo Alto Networks Chief Executive Officer Nikesh Arora and Indian media magnate Satyan Gajwani, is offering more than £80 million ($97 million) for one of the teams in The Hundred, a short-form cricket tournament in England and Wales.
The Oval Invincibles and London Spirit are the two teams that have been vying for this bid, and they both compete in The Hundred, a tournament meant to attract more young fans and families through the fast-paced, 100-ball games. Other key members of the bidding group include Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen, and Egon Durban, co-CEO of Silver Lake Management. Although the consortium has declined to comment on the deal, their participation indicates growing interest in cricket from high-profile tech executives.
Pichai, a keen cricket enthusiast, has joined the bandwagon as part of a greater initiative by Indian tech leaders to enhance the game's global appeal. Specifically, Indian investors like Nadella and Narayen have already significantly contributed to the United States' Major League Cricket (MLC), which will take the sport beyond the established cricketing countries.
In the wake of such an end, the ECB in September 2024 launched a process that opens private investments to The Hundred's eight teams under the umbrella of Raine Group, an investment bank known to have previously handled the sales of football clubs Manchester United and Chelsea FC. For each of these eight teams, ECB is giving the possibility of owning 49% with an open option of fully taking control over the same teams. This opportunity has most keenly interested investors looking to own a piece of London's two teams.
London Spirit is an attractive investment as it will play out of the iconic Lord's Cricket Ground, often described as the 'home of cricket'. The ECB's men's and women's competitions in The Hundred make approximately £60 million each year through broadcasting, ticket sales, and sponsorships.
Since its launch in 2021, The Hundred has grown exponentially, with over 2 million spectators attending matches at its eight venues. With the expansion of the tournament, the financial attractiveness of the competition is expected to keep rising, and thus it would attract tech moguls and sports enthusiasts alike.
