Landmark GMR Deal For Delhi Capitals With Hampshire!! Veteran England Batter Helps
by SW Cricket · SportzwikiThe GMR group, which are the co-owners of the Delhi-Capitals in the Indian Premier League (IPL), has made a historic milestone in the game by acquiring Hampshire Cricket Club, which is the first instance of a county cricket team coming under the acquisition of an international company, taking a huge step in the sport.
Delhi Capitals, owned by Kiran Kumar Gandhi, has agreed to collect a 100 percent stake in Hampshire Sports and Leisure Holdings Limited (HSLHL), the parent company of the Hampshire club. The final signing is yet to be done but is expected to be completed in phases over the next 24 months.
The club is one of the 18 first-class counties associated with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and was founded in 1863. The development will, however, not have an immediate effect on the proposed plan of the ECB to privatize the Hundred with the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Kevin Pietersen stands as the common link of the deal with Delhi Capitals
The deal with the Delhi Capitals is worth 45 million for 100 percent, which is nearly INR 450-500 crore. The GMR is buying 53 percent for 23 million pounds, which is nearly INR 230-300 crore, while the remaining 47 percent will be processed over the next two years.
The Hampshire ground, which is the Rose Bowl stadium, will now belong to the GMR, along with the massive golf course beside it. The Hilton Hotel, which is on one of the sides of the ground, will also be owned by the Indian company but the biggest advantage for them will come with the land that will also come under GMR.
The former England batter, Kevin Pietersen, who played for the club for five years in 2005, has also been part of the Delhi Capitals in the past for three years during his time in the Indian Premier League and captained them in 2014. He has maintained a great relationship with Kiran Kumar Gandhi, the GMR’s chairman, and the pair was also present during the T20I game against Australia earlier this month.
“HISTORIC DAY in English Cricket! Congrats to everyone on this journey. It’s only the start…. LFG! Pietersen wrote on his ‘X’ handle, formerly known as Twitter.
Rod Bransgrove, the chair of the parent company of Hampshire, addressed that he spent nearly 18 months around the world to find a potential investor for the move, and he finally chose the GMR of the Delhi Capitals.
“Kevin takes an ambassadorial role for GMR, and we’ve certainly spoken to him once or twice. He’s been very interested in the potential for this because he knows the GMR culture, he knows our culture, and he knows that they’re very well-suited to each other. In that respect, yes, he has been involved.” Rod approved a contribution of Pietersen to the deal.
The GMR is also a front-runner to buy a 49% stake in the Southern Brave as part of the privatization of the Hundred. The chair of Hampshire said that the agreement pre-dated any speculation about the changes to the ownership of the Hundred.
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“When we struck this deal with GMR, we said that a part of our asset base is a one-nineteenth interest in the financial benefit of the Hundred competition, less a 10% consideration which goes to the grassroots game,” Bransgrove said about Delhi Capitals looking after Southern Brave.
“After that, there’s been all sorts of talk about providing 51% ownership to host venues and then selling the other 49% and ‘will this prejudice that?‘ and all those kinds of things.” The veteran discussed.