New Zealand’s rugby association NZR and the world-famous national team All Blacks are now also in American hands. The Californian venture capital company Silver Lake buys for initially 200 million New Zealand dollars (a good 120 million euros), on Thursday the regional associations cleared the way for this deal in a vote with a large majority. This ends a year-long dispute.
NZR boss Stewart Mitchell spoke of a “monumental moment in New Zealand’s rugby history. It has taken us some time to get to this point because this game is so important to our members.”
Silver Lake, which also holds shares in the English football champions Manchester City, initially acquires 5.8 percent of a newly founded NZR company. At a later date, the share is to increase to 8.58 percent.
NZR initially planned to sell 12.5 percent. However, the regional associations and also the New Zealand Rugby Professionals Association (NZRPA) put up a lot of resistance for a long time. The NZRPA even made a counter-offer to the financially ailing association.
The Players’ Association fears a loss of identity for the most iconic brand in international rugby. In the future, some games of the three-time world champion could be played in the USA. The goal is anyway to open up the US market, and the Rugby World Cup will be held in the United States for the first time in 2031.