Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney make contact over stake in Hundred franchise (original) (raw)
Hollywood actors and Wrexham co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney are interested in buying a stake in Welsh Fire - a franchise in The Hundred who are based in Cardiff
Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney could move into cricket
Wrexham co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney are interested in expanding their investment into Welsh sport by buying a stake in Welsh Fire.
The Hollywood duo have enjoyed great success since buying into Wrexham in November 2020, overseeing two promotions to reach League One. Reynolds and McElhenney have not just bought into Wrexham, but Wales in general and are open to diversifying their commercial interests to include another sport.
The England and Wales Cricket Board has started a process to sell 49 per cent stakes in all eight franchises of short-form tournament The Hundred. They have begun speaking to interested parties and hope to raise around £500million through the process, which is being handled by Raine Group – the same merchant bank which oversaw Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s takeover of Manchester United.
Welsh Fire play at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff – the home of Glamorgan County Cricket Club – and the minority stake in the side is valued at around £30m. The club has spoken to a few interested parties since the process started on September 5, including Reynolds and McElhenney, who already own stakes in Mexican football side Necaxa and the Alpine Formula 1 team.
Glamorgan chief executive Cherry told ESPNcricinfo: "It is a feasible option. Contact's been made. There's not been anything substantial come back yet, but we're in the process and I know that they'll certainly be included in any process that we've got going forward. All bids and offers that are going to come in are going to be interesting to us, and we're going to have to evaluate what the best bid is for us.
"There's obvious interest in what Ryan Reynolds and the guys have done at Wrexham, which has been fantastic for football in North Wales. That doesn't necessarily mean to say that it'll be the right option for us, but if they're interested in talking to us, obviously it's an exciting proposition."
ESPNcricinfo reports that there has also been interest in Welsh Fire from Pakistan Super League franchise Multan Sultans, while Indian Premier League franchises are also weighing up moves for Hundred teams. The ECB have also contacted owners of NFL sides in the hope of drumming up interest.
The Welsh Fire play in Cardiff (
Image:
Nathan Stirk/ECB via Getty Images)
The ECB is selling off 49 per cent of all eight Hundred franchises, while the remaining 51 per cent has been given to the host county, who can decide to keep it or sell. If they choose to sell their share then 10 per cent of the proceeds will go into recreational cricket.
Welsh Fire are likely to be the cheapest franchise on offer due to the fact that Sophia Gardens has the smallest capacity and that prospective investors are attracted to the London-based Oval Invincibles and London Spirit.
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