Washington Freedom secure rights for the Welsh Fire side by meeting the estimated valuation of £67.5 million.
Washington Freedom have won the bid for The Hundred side Welsh Fire after meeting the £67.5 million valuation.
The owner of Washington Freedom and a US-based tech entrepreneur, Sanjay Govil, will now begin an exclusive contract with Glamorgan, the county hosting the Fire.
Over the next eight weeks, the ECB and its experts will assist the two sides in negotiating the specifics of the contract. Earlier this month, Glamorgan informed its members that they plan to keep their 51% controlling interest in Welsh Fire.
Govil serves as chairman of two tech businesses in the United States: Zyter, a provider of health technology services, and Infinite Computer Solutions, a prominent provider of technology services. He purchased the Washington Freedom in Major League Cricket two years ago, marking his first significant investment in cricket. The Washington Freedom just won their maiden MLC championship.
In the last round, Govil outbid one other competitor. It was believed that the losing bidder was Capri Global, an Indian loan business that owns UP Warriorz and Sharjah Warriorz in the WPL and ILT20, respectively. The Hollywood stars and co-owners of Wrexham AFC, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenny, had discussions with Glamorgan but left before the last round of bidding.
Although their women’s team has been more successful and was a losing finalist last year, the Fire have not advanced to the play-offs in the first four seasons of the men’s Hundred. Due to their very poor attendance thus far, they are anticipated to have the lowest valuation among the eight teams.