Man Utd owners the Glazers battle Chelsea director 'with bids for another sports team'

The Glazers are reportedly battling with over 100 other groups to purchase stakes in Hundred teams.

The eight teams in the cricket competition were recently valued at more than £650million, and with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) hoping to raise funds to further increase the size of the sport as a whole, the opportunity has caught the eye of potential investors around the world.

According to The Telegraph, several of the Glazer siblings, excluding Joel, are among those who have declared a ‘firm interest’ in buying a stake, though it is unclear which franchise they would look to invest in at this stage.

The first round of the bidding was closed on Friday, with more than 100 bids being placed for the eight possible teams. Some investors did also submit offers in more than one team in the hope of successfully acquiring stakes.

The sales are being led by the ECB, with Raine Group acting as one of two advisors on the transactions. They acted as a financial advisor to Manchester United when the Glazers sold a 27.7% stake in their club to INEOS earlier this year.

Though the American family are not the only football-based party who are looking to expand their investment portfolios by dipping their toes into the world of cricket.

Chelsea director Jonathan Goldstein has registered an interest in tabling an offer to the Raine Group, which would be independent of the Stamford Bridge outfit. Goldstein and his partners have requested additional information on potentially investing ahead of the second round of bidding. He is a business partner of Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly, who purchased the Blues in a deal which was also oversee by Raine.

Goldstein and the Glazers will both be keen to be involved in the new rise of the Hundred, though India’s richest family the Ambanis and billion Sanjiv Goenka are already heavily involved in the bidding.

The ECB are keen to sell 49 per cent of each team, though it will be clear in the next round of bidding how much each investor is looking to purchase when they clarify their individual offers.

The remaining 51 per cent will then be given to the host venue, who are then able to sell that stake on or keep it.