Bombshell bid comes for Coast NRL licence
THE Brisbane Bombers have entered the race for the Titans licence armed with a $10 million bid to stave off the North Sydney Bears and keep the club on the Gold Coast.
A Bombers consortium has begun due diligence into the Titans after contacting the NRL to formally express interest in buying the financially stricken club. The NRL last week put the Titans up for sale, prompting Rebecca Frizelle to resign as club chair as she ramps up plans to purchase the licence with former co-owner Darryl Kelly.
Frizelle and Kelly are hot favourites to clinch the licence, while North Sydney represent a threat with a $7 million bid aimed at reviving the famous Bears as an NRL identity. But the Brisbane consortium have the financial muscle to blow rival bids out of the water.
The Bombers launched in 2011 with a view to becoming Brisbane’s second team to rival the Broncos.
But with the NRL putting expansion on the backburner, they are keen to rescue the Gold Coast.
“We’ll be making a bid for the Titans licence,” said Bombers CEO Nick Livermore, whose late father Ross was formerly the boss of the QRL and a board member at the Gold Coast Chargers.
“We’ve contacted the NRL and formally applied to be part of the bid process.
“We’re currently looking over the Titans’ financials, we’re understanding the ins and out of the business and looking to see if we can add value to the club. Our motivation is growing the game and bringing stability to the Titans on the Gold Coast.”
A four-man Bombers consortium is currently examining the financials of a Titans club that will lose an estimated $2.3 million this season.
Livermore said the Brisbane group had no plans to relocate the Titans.