By Lucky Vince Pienaar
At the beginning of the year, the deal to sell a large portion of the Springboks brand seemed ready for a high-octane launch, but it is now back in the melting pot after the unions kicked against the proposed deal, with a clear call to slow down the process.
This follows the South African Rugby Union (Saru) appearing poised to sign a deal with the American investment group, Ackerley Sports Group (ASG).
The Ackerley family business, based in Seattle, has no prior involvement in rugby. They are, however, heavily involved in business, particularly in buying sports institutions. The group’s involvement in sports began with Barry Ackerley, who bought the NBA’s Seattle Supersonics and the WNBA’s Seattle Storm.
His sons, twin brothers Ted and Chris Ackerley, have ventured into sports investment and recently became investors in Leeds United Football Club.
The idea is that ASG will invest in a Commercial Rights Corporation (CRC), which will hold all current and future revenue-generating assets of the Springboks and Saru. Saru will be the majority shareholder of CRC, with ASG taking what is described as a significant minority interest.
South African rugby, like all rugby-playing nations, could do with a cash injection, and R1.3-billion would be very welcome.
But the unions have stuck a huge spoke in the wheel of this deal. News24, quoting what it calls an impeccable source, said that on Monday night seven of the 14 unions spoke out against the deal.
For a deal like this to go ahead, 75% of the unions must vote in favour, which means 10 unions must support it.
Some top unions, including the Lions, Blue Bulls, Sharks and Western Province, have reportedly written a letter pleading with Saru president Mark Alexander and CEO Rian Oberholzer to postpone a meeting on Thursday to “prevent a public spectacle which is not in the interests of Saru or its members”.
In the letter, they question the identities of the ASG members and who exactly the partners would be.
There are also questions about the value of the deal. If the New Zealand brand is worth R2.4-billion (with Silver Lake), the South African deal may be seriously undervalued.
The deal that seemed all but signed, sealed and delivered on Monday now seems far from finalised. Slowing down the process, so that the rush to do the deal eases a little, and taking a more realistic approach may not be a bad thing.
Pictured above: Springboks.
Source: Springboks/X
