A new investment bid for Yorkshire County Cricket Club has been received from an Indian Premier League franchise that rivals Mike Ashley’s move to buy the Headingley Stadium, UK’s The Times reports.
While the identity of the IPL franchise is being kept secret, per The Times, the new bidder is understood to be unrelated to an earlier bid made public in September by the Rajasthan Royals, which has since dropped out of the running.
The Times report comes after UK’s The Telegraph reported on 7 November that there were now four potential buyers in the race, with Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group remaining the “frontrunner”.
The Telegraph had reported that the Indian group now in talks with the club was unrelated to the Indian Premier League. Per the daily, there was also an unnamed potential American investor in the mix enthused by the prospect for international growth after the sport was included in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Yorkshire have made Headingley available as debt refinancing in the current market conditions appears to be a significantly more expensive option.
Yorkshire acquired Headingley in 2005 from the Leeds Cricket, Football and Athletic Company in a £12 million deal.
