ARL eager to buy but Watson holding out for $20m
David Skipwith
Auckland Rugby League’s bid to buy a stake in the Warriors is at a delicate stage, with owner Eric Watson holding out for top dollar.
The ARL want a majority share in the Auckland-based NRL club — but have their own view what the franchise is worth.
The Herald understands Watson is reluctant to sell the club for anything less than $20 million, while the ARL’s offer sits below $15 million. The situation is similar to the stalemate that squashed Auckland businessman Paul Davys’ recent bid to buy the club, before his offer of $15 million was eventually rejected by Watson in late August. But there is greater optimism around the ARL’s chances.
Davys, meanwhile, is rumoured to have recently resurrected his bid — but denied that was the case when contacted yesterday.
The ARL want to purchase the club in conjunction with corporate partners with strong business nous and have held initial talks with at least two potential investors.
Although both parties are at odds over the value of the Warriors, Watson is understood to be enthusiastic about the ARL taking ownership of the club.
It’s believed the ARL are open to Watson and former Warriors managing director-turned-executive chairman Jim Doyle, who owns a 10 per cent share, retaining a small stake in the business, a potential compromise that could see the price come down.
Doyle declined to comment, saying: “The potential sale and details around any potential individuals or groups involved is private and confidential.”
The ARL yesterday notified the 32 affiliated Auckland clubs of their bid and outlined their vision — with the planned purchase of the Warriors viewed as an investment that would see profits put back into growing and developing grassroots league.
Central to their plans is reestablishing a semi-professional Auckland competition, possibly by enhancing the Fox Memorial competition, to bridge the divide between the amateur ranks and NRL.
There are parallels between the ARL’s bid and the NRL’s recent $10 million sale of the Newcastle Knights to Wests Group — a Newcastle-owned and operated not-for-profit membershipbased organisation.
Central to the agreement, Wests Group have pledged to invest A$10.6m towards a Centre of Excellence for the Knights and spend a further A$2.5m on grassroots league in the NewcastleHunter region in the next five years.
Like the Warriors, the Knights have difficulty hanging on to their best junior talent, with rich Sydney clubs regularly raiding their stocks.
Both clubs have also struggled to sign big-name players and often had to pay overs to lure experienced representative stars.
The ARL hope the Warriors could replicate Penrith’s successful model of junior and local development and player retention, providing a more direct pathway through to the Warriors NRL side and offering enough incentive to ensure the best Kiwi talent remains in New Zealand.
The ARL’s submission also follows former Warriors captain Monty Betham’s endeavours to front a bid on behalf of Warriors fans and sponsors. Betham and his team of mystery investors have had formal discussions with Watson and are still completing their due diligence.
The ARL are reluctant to fork out cash to begin their own due diligence, until they get an agreement on price.