Cricket is a game that never quite had any regard for national boundaries. The taking over of a majority stake in Hampshire County by GMR, the co-owners of the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise, Delhi Capitals, makes a piece of good evidence for the statement. This deal has made Hampshire the first county to be owned by a foreign company.
As per the contract, GMR has agreed to the acquisition of control in stages. This will see the Indian infrastructure company initially holding a 53% stake in the county’s parent company, Hampshire Sport and Leisure Holdings Ltd, followed by a 100% transfer of ownership within the next two years. As per reports, the total value of the deal is somewhere around £120 million, half of which is in the form of operating debt taken on by the new owners. GMR has paid £43 million for the ownership portion of the deal. 53% of this equity part has been paid upfront, while the remaining will be cleared in due course.
Rod Bransgrove, the former majority shareholder of Hampshire, initially intended to sell 60% of his stake in the company. The talks about the deal started in June 2023 when India and Australia were playing for the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
“This is the fulfilment of a dream for me and, I hope, for all Hampshire Cricket supporters,” said Rod Bransgrove, who will continue to be the chairman of the cricket club until 30th September 2026 at least.
“Beyond our team’s accomplishments on the field over the past 24 years, we have transformed our stadium into a premier Test Match and events venue and one of the most exceptional cricket and leisure facilities in the country. We have also been pioneers in the development of women’s cricket and have consistently innovated throughout this relatively short history.”
GGPL, which is the parent company of GMR, was chosen after a thorough evaluation and selection process, as told by Bransgrove himself.
“After a thorough selection process, we chose GGPL as our partners due to their shared values and commitment to our vision. We believe GGPL is the perfect organization, with the right people, to build on our proud legacy. Becoming the first English cricket club to join an international cricket group will open exciting new opportunities as we embrace the globalization of this great sport.”
It is understood that the owners of GMR, being true to their company’s infrastructure background, also expressed their interest in the Hilton Hotel and the golf course at the Utilita Bowl, which is Hampshire’s home stadium. In addition to serving as Hampshire’s home turf, the presence of a five-star hotel nearby makes the Utilita Bowl a convenient venue for matches, which is the reason why it caught the eye of GMR.
It should be noted here that the deal does not include the acquisition of Southern Brave, the Hundred team which represents the Hampshire county. However, GMR has expressed its interest in buying the sole ownership of the team. It is understood that this would not be as straightforward as getting the ownership of Hampshire was. England Cricket Board (ECB) has yet to decide on the plan as to how the entire ownership can be sold. If and when that happens, GMR would need to buy 51% stake in Southern Brave from Hampshire as the ECB announced earlier that 51% of the teams will transferred to the host counties. However, for GMR, that can only be done after they but the remaining 49% at the market value.
Despite being an infrastructure conglomerate, GMR and GGPL own many teams in franchise tournaments across the world including Dubai Capitals in ILT20, and has a major stake in Seattle Orcas in Major League Cricket.
