Premiership: Sold to the highest bidder?
FINANCIAL NEWS: It seems like the English Premiership’ cash crunch could already be a thing of the past.
BBC reported, Premiership owners will hold a board meeting next week to discuss a potential £275m takeover of the league.
The Premiership is owned by 13 clubs – the 12 current Premiership teams and second division London Irish – will hold a special meeting to decipher the deal.
According to the BBC, the offer has come from former F1 owners CVC Capital Partners, which is looking for a 51 percent share.
The deal, first revealed by The Times, would be the biggest of its kind in club rugby history.
A cash injection like this would be beneficial for the Premiership clubs, especially with Worcester Warriors and Harlequins recording financial losses in the past accounting year.
However, the BBC stated there are concerns that a deal of this kind could drive a further wedge between the club game and the Rugby Football Union.
The RFU, are apparently powerless to stop the deal going through. The RFU can veto new owners of individual clubs but have no right of veto to ownership of the actual league.
Financial equity firm CVC would also be unwilling to make such a play without seeing a sizeable return for its investment.
It is understood the clubs have long sought a means to raise extra capital in order to take the league to the next level.
But CVC’s valuation of the league at about £550m falls short of the clubs’ expectations.
Club sources have also indicated the approach is one of a handful of options, with nothing imminent at this stage.
@BBCSport
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