Lucknow owners agree deal for Manchester Originals

Manchester Originals' men have twice been beaten in The Hundred final

Manchester Originals have become the second Hundred franchise to partner with an Indian Premier League team after Lancashire agreed a deal with Lucknow Super Giants.

RPSG group, owners of the Super Giants, put a total value of £116m on the Originals in Monday's virtual auction.

They agreed to take a 70% share in the Originals, meaning Lancashire have become the first host to hand over a controlling stake.

To go with the four deals last week, the sale of shares in five Hundred teams comes to about £366m.

RPSG were in the running to buy a stake in London Spirit, only to lose out. In investing in the Originals, they are believed to have beaten off bids connected to IPL sides Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

Lancashire chief executive Daniel Gidney had previously been open about the county's desire to partner with an IPL team.

A Lancashire statement said: "We have been very focused on securing a great partner - ideally from the IPL - and RPSG has been our preferred bidder for some time.

"We are delighted by the outcome and look forward to working together to create an exciting future. Together, we have a shared ambition to create a very special cricket team for the people of Manchester and the wider North West region."

Lucknow are a new IPL team, formed as part of the league's expansion in 2021. The RPSG group also owns Durban Super Giants in the South Africa T20 league.

Last week, Surrey negotiated a £60m price with the owners of Mumbai Indians for a 49% stake in Oval Invincibles, the county retaining the 51% share given to them by the ECB.

That was followed by three similar deals. Warwickshire agreed a 49% sale of Birmingham Phoenix to Birmingham City owners Knighthead Capital and Glamorgan sold the same stake in Welsh Fire to IT entrepreneur Sanjay Govil for £40m.

In between, a price of £145m for 49% of Lord's-based London Spirit was agreed between Marylebone Cricket Club and a Silicon Valley consortium led by Nikesh Arora. The size of that deal confounded expectations at the ECB.

Lancashire's deal is different. They have also opted to sell 21% of the 51% in the Originals they were gifted by the ECB, retaining the other 30%.

The county will use the proceeds to lower their debt, continue the development of a second ground in Farington, build a new indoor school and improve facilities for members.

All successful bidders now enter an eight-week period of exclusivity in order to complete the sales.