Bridgepoint makes £400m bid to acquire 75% stake in the Hundred

Private equity firm Bridgepoint Group has made a £400m bid to acquire a 75% stake in English cricket’s the Hundred, the newest short-form version of the sport launched by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), according to a report by Sky News.

The proposal by the London-listed buyout form would provide a significant injection of funds for the ECB and the 18 forts class counties.

With franchised Twenty20 competitions gaining in popularity around the world, the report says that the Hundred, which launched a year later than planned in 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, is ripe for private investment. But ECB chair Richard Thompson is urging caution saying that while a deal on outside investment is possible, it may be better to let the two-year old competition format “grow and develop first”.

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Last year, Bridge Point raised £300m from the issuance of 85.7 million new ordinary shares, while its shareholders sold stock worth £489m.

Bridgepoint was formed following the management buyout of NatWest’s private equity arm in 2000. The group, which acquired the credit arm of EQT last year, manages assets across six distinct strategies from 10 offices in Europe, the US and Asia. It invests in companies valued at up to €1.5bn and currently has €27bn in funds under management.

Its funds currently have stakes in sushi chain Itsu, care-home provider Care UK and political data and monitoring company DeHavilland.

With the IPO, Bridgepoint joins the ranks of a handful of listed private equity firms, including 3i Group and Intermediate Capital Group, both of which listed in London in 1994.

Source: Private Equity Wire

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