New ECB chair Richard Thompson believes The Hundred is "worth a lot more" than £1bn following investment interest from a private equity firm.
Thompson has previously said the ECB are open to outside investment in the tournament and Sky News reported last month that Bridgepoint Group had approached them with a £400m offer for a controlling 75% stake in The Hundred.
And when quizzed about the offer, Thompson confirmed the ECB had received one and drew comparisons to the IPL when speaking about how much he felt The Hundred was worth. "The reality is The Hundred has created an awful lot of interest in private equity markets," Thompson told BBC Test Match Special.
"There is a feeding frenzy around world cricket and private equity so I'm not surprised we had an offer. It was an unsolicited offer but I won't be drawn on what that is.
"But what it does show is the interest that The Hundred and English cricket is generating so I would expect more unsolicited offers as well."
When asked if he felt the competition was worth £400m, Thompson pointed out that the two newest IPL teams Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans were bought for more than $1.6bn (£1.3bn).
"Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL sold for nearly $1bn ($940m), so I would say a tournament is worth a lot more," he added. Thompson also described the rise of franchise tournaments like the IPL as "an existential threat to the game", with team owners investing in multiple leagues around the world and broaching the idea of signing cricket's biggest stars to yearly contracts.
"Players are facing the extraordinary decisions on whether to sign a central contract with England or a contract with the owner of four franchises and follow the sun," Thompson said. "It is an existential threat to the game.
"Our key assets are the players and the player pathway. We have to guard that very carefully and ensure we don’t lose control of our key assets as their options and choice of what they do with their careers are changing rapidly and the money available is lifechanging."
