The South Africa Rugby Union (SARU) had a private equity investment deal around the sport’s commercial rights rejected by member unions on Friday.
For the proposal to be approved a 75% majority had to be achieved in the vote in which 13 member unions took part. As it turned out seven of the unions in question opposed the deal.
The deal has one last hope with the consortium, Ackerley Sports Group, holding an exclusivity period until the end of the year when they can submit a revised bid.
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Sustainable future
President of SARU, Mark Alexander, respects the decision and underlined that the ultimate goal remains setting up a sustainable future for rugby in the country.
“The input and perspectives shared by our members have been invaluable, and we respect those perspectives,” said Alexander.
“Our goal remains to secure a sustainable and prosperous future for South African Rugby, ensuring that we continue to grow and succeed on both the national and international stages.
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“We remain committed to working transparently and inclusively as we navigate this process. We thank our members for their engagement and feedback and look forward to presenting revised proposals that reflect our collective vision and goals in due course.”
During the meeting, Mary-Ann Musekiwa was selected as the female representative to the World Rugby General Council.
There could be another option for SARU to consider with reports surfacing of a consortium headed by billionaire Johann Rupert is gearing up to table a counter offer. The deal was supposed to be shown during the Monday meeting although nothing has surfaced.
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/south-africa-private-equity-deal-falls-through-after-failed-vote-with-member-unions
