Kevin Pietersen helped to broker the landmark deal between the co-owners of Delhi Capitals and Hampshire, ESPNcricinfo can reveal. After lengthy talks, Hampshire announced a new "strategic partnership" with the GMR Group on Monday, which Pietersen hailed as a "historic day in English cricket".
Pietersen, who played for Hampshire from 2005-10, spent three years under contract with the Delhi franchise in the IPL, then called the Daredevils, and captained them in 2014. He has since maintained a personal relationship with Kiran Kumar Grandhi, GMR's chairman, and the pair attended England's T20I against Australia at the Utilita Bowl together earlier this month.
While Pietersen does not have any active business interest in GMR or Hampshire, he is understood to have introduced the two parties to one another in an informal role. "HISTORIC DAY in English Cricket! Congrats to everyone on this journey," he wrote on X, in response to the deal's formal announcement. "It's only the start…. LFG! [Let's f***ing go]."
Rod Bransgrove, who chairs Hampshire's parent company, said that he had spent 18 months speaking to potential investors from "all over the world" and that "four or five" parties had placed formal bids. Bransgrove said that GMR were ultimately chosen because of their "ethos", "family orientation" and commitment to "social responsibility."
Bransgrove confirmed that Pietersen played a part in the deal: "Kevin takes an ambassadorial role for GMR and we've certainly spoken to him once or twice. He's been very interested in the potential for this because, obviously, he knows the GMR culture, he knows our culture, and he knows that they're very well suited to each other. In that respect, yes, he has been involved."
Grandhi, whose son Ruchir is also involved at Delhi, told ESPNcricinfo that Pietersen was "the common link" between him and Bransgrove. "He is a good friend," Grandhi said. "He knows Rod. He knows me. He is the common link: he is a mutual friend."
Will GMR buy Southern Brave?
GMR are front-runners to buy a 49% stake in Southern Brave as part of the ECB's privatisation of the Hundred and have expressed their interest to Raine, the US investment bank who are running the sales process. Bransgrove said the agreement pre-dated any speculation about changes to the Hundred's ownership model and should not be seen as a back-door attempt to invest in a franchise.
"When we struck this deal with GMR, we said that a part of our asset base is a one-nineteenth interest in the financial benefit of the Hundred competition, less a 10% consideration which goes to the grassroots game," Bransgrove said. "They made a valuation of that in terms of calculating the overall value of the package.
"Subsequent to that, there's been all sorts of talk about providing 51% ownership to host venues and then selling the other 49% and 'will this prejudice that?' and all those kind of things. What we've inserted is that there will be an uplift in the value that's been ascribed… in the event that we are awarded a franchise - which, of course, we've only been awarded in principle so far.
"This is still under debate because it is contingent on us finding a market value based bidder for the other 49%. The deal is not contingent on getting a Hundred franchise… it's something we've agreed between us and there will be a further-stage payment in the event that a Hundred franchise is allocated to the Utilita Bowl or Hampshire Cricket during the period before final closing."
If the franchise stays with Hampshire as anticipated, it could either be run entirely by GMR or as a joint venture with another business. "I've spoken to at least two other potential interest parties," Bransgrove said. "That's out of my gift, what happens to the 49%, but it can only sell to a related party if it's at a true market value - which I'm certain that Raine will be monitoring."
Bransgrove: I want Hampshire at 'top table'
The Utilita Bowl will host its first men's Ashes Test in 2027 and Bransgrove said that the deal was informed by his desire to retain the "leadership position" at English cricket's "top table" assumed by the award of that fixture.
"It's going to be business as usual for Hampshire, except with the confidence of having GMR behind this," Bransgrove said. "What will change over a period of time is that we will start to benefit from the proliferation of cricket around the globe in the franchise format: although I can't disclose where, it's likely that we will participate in an overseas franchise competition in November.
"It is just a great opportunity all round. There's no doubt in my mind that this country in particular is quite resistant to change. It's quite a traditional country; in fact, worse than that, we resent change. And some people will tend to blame the Hundred for every single thing that goes wrong in their lives.
"Clever businesses recognise the trends and position themselves to be able to exploit the trends to the benefit of their business, and that's what I'm seeking to do here. I don't think I'll be the last person to do it, and I think it's going to be very good for Hampshire cricket ultimately, as private ownership has been to the game at large."
Additional reporting: Nagraj Gollapudi.