Wrexham owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, as well as the Glazer family, are reportedly keen on The Hundred investment.
The cricket tournament returns for a fourth season on Tuesday, with eight teams having both men’s and women’s sides competing.
The Telegraph report that the England and Wales Cricket Board [ECB] will commence auctioning for stakes in the teams from September.
And amongst those interested in potential investment are said to be Reynolds and McElhenney amid their already present venture into football.
The Hollywood acting duo completed their purchase of Wrexham in February 2021 through their RR McReynolds Company LLC and have seen huge success since.
They joined when the club were in the National League but they will now compete in League One this season after securing back-to-back promotions.
It is said they are interested in making an investment in Welsh Fire and the ECB are keen to have them attend a game to ‘further assess the situation’.
Manchester United majority owners the Glazer family are in contention for investment too, with their interest reported as ‘firm’.
As well as their ownership of NFL franchise Tampa Bay Buccaneers, they have already invested in cricket having bought the Desert Vipers, who compete in the Emirati International League T20 [ILT20].
Red Bull are also keen on investment in one of the teams and already sponsor England stars Ben Stokes and Alice Capsey.
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News of investment in The Hundred comes after the ECB rejected a whopping $1billion offer for the franchise.
The interest came from Indian Premier League founder Lalit Modi and he is said to have set out a ten-year plan for the competition.
However, the ECB are reportedly uninterested in a sale as they fear losing control of the domestic season.
In addition, they want to maintain their relationship with the Board of Control for Cricket in India [BCCI], from whom Modi was permanently banned in 2013 as a result of serious misconduct.
talkSPORT’s cricket editor, Jon Norman, spoke to Sam Matterface, Alex Crook and Peterborough owner, Darragh MacAnthony about The 100’s future, with all eight clubs up for sale.
He said: “One of the items that has come up for debate in the last 24 hours is they [ECB] are trying to sell it and make money, but names could be changed.
“Somebody could come in and buy the Oval Invincibles and change the name to whatever.
“The way the ECB package the financial side of things is a little bit sleight of hand, so some people say the tournament is making a profit, on the other hand, you have people saying, ‘you don’t factor in the wage you play the players’, so it’s not making a profit.
“If you look at T20 leagues around the world, owners own the club – they can do whatever they want.
“That’s not how this is going to work.
“The ECB will sell 49 per cent to an investor, but they are going to give 51 per cent to Surrey [for the Oval Invincibles], which is where they host the team.
“It is then up to the host what they do with their stake.”
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So if Reynolds and McElhenney were to buy a stake in Welsh Fire, they wouldn’t be able to acquire all of it.
The 2024 edition of The Hundred sees the Oval Invincibles and Southern Brave arrive as the respective men’s and women’s reigning champions.
All eight teams compete over 64 matches – 32 for the men’s and 32 for the women’s – in a group stage format, with whoever finishes first advancing to the final.
The second and third place teams then play each other in an eliminator for the last remaining final spot.
Keep up to date with all the latest news and interviews on the talkSPORT Cricket YouTube channel.