Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly has bought a minority stake in the Nottingham-based Hundred franchise Trent Rockets for almost £40 million.

Cain International, the company Boehly co-founded with Chelsea director Jonathan Goldstein, placed the winning bid for Trent Rockets, the seventh franchise to be sold as part of the England and Wales Cricket Board’s auction process.

The auction valued the Trent Bridge team at £79 million, and Cain – which is working with Ares Management, a private equity firm – have bought a 49 per cent stake. It will now enter a period of exclusivity with Nottinghamshire CCC, who will retain a controlling (51 per cent) stake in Trent Rockets.

It is understood the auction opened at £60 million and Boehly’s group beat Indian Premier League franchise Kolkata Knight Riders and Indian businessman Amit Jain in a bidding war.

This takes the running total of valuations of Hundred franchises beyond £850 million, with one more sale, Southampton-based Southern Brave, to come on Wednesday. Brave are expected to be picked up by host county Hampshire’s owners GMR, the Indian business that co-owns IPL team Delhi Capitals.

Boehly, who is American, had previously been in the running for both London franchises, but was outbid for London Spirit (by a tech consortium led by Palo Alto boss Nikesh Arora) and Oval Invincibles (by the Ambani family, owners of Mumbai Indians).

After losing out, he turned his attention to Trent Rockets. They were a very popular franchise earlier in the sales process, with around 15 parties interested, but their late position in the order meant they were picked up for a relative snip.

Nottinghamshire were thought to prefer an IPL partner, but by the time bidding wound round to them, Sunrisers Hyderabad, who bought a 100 per cent stake in Northern Superchargers, and Lucknow Super Giants, who bought a 70 per cent stake in Manchester Originals, were off the market, as well as the Ambanis. KKR showed an interest, but were eventually outbid.

The ECB, Nottinghamshire and Raine had postponed the sale of Rockets by a few days in order to gather interest, and it is understood that they are happy with the price raised in the circumstances. By holding onto their share, Nottinghamshire could cash in later down the line.

With another £39 million in the pot, the total to be shared between the counties and recreational game should cross £425 million when Southern Brave are sold. Once fees paid to Raine, the bank running the sale, are accounted for (they are expected to run into the millions), the money will be spread through English cricket, in this structure:

• the first 10 per cent to the recreational game, with the rest shared by the counties;

• of the counties’ share, the first £275 million shared 19 ways (between the 18 first-class counties and MCC);

• the next £150 million shared between the 11 non-hosts;

• all proceeds above £425 million shared 19 ways once more.

Host counties selling any of their share (i.e. Lancashire and Yorkshire), will split the proceeds like this:

• the first 10 per cent to the recreational game;

• the next 80 per cent to the host county;

• the final 10 per cent split by the other 17 counties and MCC.

The investment expands Boehly’s sporting portfolio. He led a consortium, Blueco, that took over Chelsea for £4.25 billion in May 2022, while he also co-owns French football team Strasbourg and the LA Dodgers baseball team.

Boehly’s winning bid means that the ECB’s stated aim to have four of the eight teams owned by IPL franchises will be achieved. Two of the eight are involved in English football: Boehly’s group, as well as the Tom Brady-backed Knighthead Capital, the owners of Birmingham City who have picked up a 49 per cent stake in Edgbaston-based Birmingham Phoenix.