Glamorgan have welcomed the “exciting proposition” of Hollywood duo Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney branching out into cricket by investing in Welsh Fire.
The England and Wales Cricket Board has handed a 51 per cent holding in each of the eight teams to the host counties and is currently seeking bidders for the remaining 49 per cent stakes.
Reynolds and McElhenney became co-owners of Wrexham in 2020, overseeing the club’s return to the Football League and documenting the journey in the popular Disney+ series ‘Welcome to Wrexham’.
They have been tipped as potential investors in the Cardiff-based Hundred side, which is anticipated to fetch considerably less than the most highly sought-after outfits stationed at Lord’s and the Oval, and any interest from the A-list pairing would appear to be welcome.
Wrexham co-owners Rob McElhenney (left) and Ryan Reynolds react in the stands (Martin Rickett/PA)
Glamorgan chief executive Dan Cherry confirmed that a tentative approach had been initiated in an attempt to determine their interest.
He told ESPN Cricinfo: “It is a feasible option. Contact’s been made. There’s not been anything substantial come back yet, but we’re in the process and I know that they’ll certainly be included in any process that we’ve got going forward.
“All bids and offers that are going to come in are going to be interesting to us, and we’re going to have to evaluate what the best bid is for us.
“There’s obvious interest in what Ryan Reynolds and the guys have done at Wrexham, which has been fantastic for football in North Wales. That doesn’t necessarily mean to say that it’ll be the right option for us, but if they’re interested in talking to us, obviously it’s an exciting proposition.
“We want to make the right decision for the club and the game: we want to find the right partner, the right investor that’s going to improve what we do and support us along the journey – not take over.
“We are keen to build a partnership where people can add value to us as a club, whether it be on the cricket side, around players and coaches and sharing academies, or more on the commercial side. We’re looking for a true partner that can add value – not looking to lose control and sell our soul, as some people would have it.”
Prospectuses have been sent to interested parties, believed to include affiliates of all 10 Indian Premier League franchises, sovereign wealth funds and private equity groups.
The ECB’s director of business operations, Vikram Banerjee, said this month the process had attracted a “diverse mix of investors globally” and that the sale represented “the most significant private investment opportunity in the history of cricket in our country”.
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