With fixtures for the 2025 season announced on Wednesday, a day later Oval Invincibles and Birmingham Phoenix will become the first two of the eight franchises matched to preferred investors.
The other six teams will follow suit in the coming days, with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) set to announce the eight successful investors next week.
Owners of Premier League football clubs and Indian Premier League (IPL) teams, along with figures from technology and entertainment, are among those vying for a stake.
Preferred bidders will then have an eight-week exclusivity period in which to finalise a deal with a franchise, meaning the sale process will officially be completed in the late spring.
The 2025 season begins with a London derby, with London Spirit hosting Oval Invincibles at Lord’s on 5 August. The final of the fifth staging of the competition will take place on the same ground on 31 August.