Birmingham City owners Knighthead have invested heavily in the Second City over the past two years
Birmingham City chairman Tom Wagner
Tom Wagner says Knighthead are ‘committed’ to finalising their deal for Birmingham Phoenix despite a delay in negotiations.
It was announced in February that Birmingham City’s American owners had agreed to pay £40million for a 49 percent stake in the Phoenix – a cricket team that plays in The Hundred under the umbrella of Warwickshire.
An eight-week exclusivity period to agree terms was extended in March and the deal is yet to be finalised.
Opening up on the reasons for the delay to BBC Sport, Wagner said: “What everybody wants is the ability to make The Hundred even more commercially viable and to grow the product.
“It really should see more exposure globally, so I think a number of the conversations are around how that happens and what timeframe, how that moves forward.
“There’s a good alignment of interests and, as is the case with any negotiations, there’s always a bit of back and forth.”
Knighthead have already added netball team the Birmingham Panthers to their portfolio and their influence in the Second City is set to grow in the coming years.
Last week the Government pledged £2.4billion to improve transport links in the region and a tram-line connecting the city centre to the Sports Quarter has been green-lighted.
Acquiring the Phoenix remains an important goal for Knighthead.
Wagner added: “I won’t comment on the specific negotiations but what I will say is we’re very excited at the prospect of investing in the Phoenix.
“We’re committed to it, we’re excited by it and I have every confidence we’ll get to closing.”
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