A £275m offer tabled by the private equity firm CVC Capital Partners to buy 50% of Premiership Rugby is set to be rejected at Tuesday’s scheduled meeting of the leading club owners. A unanimous vote is required for the bid to succeed but it is understood a significant minority of owners are firmly against the plan.
Far from regarding the proposal as a “gamechanger” for club rugby, the view of some influential voices is that the offer undervalues the league by a considerable amount. Nor, with the professional club game having reached a crossroads in its development, are they keen to cede excessive control to new investors and settle for a far smaller slice of any future profits.
Saracens champions again as Chris Wyles leads conquest of Exeter
It is understood PRL will instead look to attract fresh investment from other sources and seek to retain a bigger share of a business which Mark McCafferty, PRL’s chief executive, has suggested could be worth around £1bn by 2025. The decision will not delight those owners of smaller clubs keen for an immediate cash injection to offset collective Premiership losses of £28.5m in 2016-17.
Others, however, insist the league, now sponsored by the American insurance giant Gallagher, is already worth around 25% more than the £550m estimated by CVC. They also believe there is still substantial financial growth in the game, not least via increasing television rights.
PRL has already seen revenue rise by 88% in the past five years to £70m. Last season saw an 11% rise in live audiences on BT Sport and a cumulative audience of more than 10 million people watched live Premiership matches on the same channel last season. Last season’s Premiership final between Saracens and Exeter was broadcast in 200 countries, with the match available to watch in over 500 million homes.
The Premiership has also become the first club rugby union tournament to air on national television in China following the signing of a four-year contract with the Chinese free-to-air sports broadcaster CCTV5+.
Vunipola back for Saracens
Billy Vunipola will be on the bench for Saracens at Allianz Park on Saturday as he makes his first appearance in the squad for his club this season. The England No 8 broke his arm on the tour of South Africa in June, the second time in six months he had suffered the same injury. Shoulder and knee problems had kept the 25-year-old out of the England picture for more than a year before that. Saracens make five changes,while visiting Bristol make eight after their victory over Bath last week. Guardian sport