Ospreys owners Y11 eye Rebels takeover

Y11 SPORTS & Media, the majority shareholders at the Ospreys, are weighing up a move to buy the Melbourne Rebels.

The Hong Kong-based sports marketing group bought a 75.1 per cent stake in the Ospreys in May 2020 creating a new holding company, Ospreys International Group.

They claimed at the time that all the financial benefits from the transaction would be put back into the Welsh side.

Now they are looking to expand their sporting portfolio with the Rebels in their sights. TRP understands they also have plans to buy a majority share in a third team in either Japanese Top League or Major League Rugby in the USA.

The Rebels’ position as one of five professional Australian franchises has always been scrutinised due to the precarious financial position of the Australian Rugby Union.

They are currently owned by the Victorian Rugby Union, but their fortunes would improve significantly if they were taken over by an institutional investor.

If Y11 is successful in completing a deal to take over the Rebels, it will be the latest in a growing trend of institutional investment in rugby.

Perhaps the best example of this is Roc Nation which is owned by American rapper Jay-Z. Roc Nation’s head of sports Michael Yormark is heavily involved in operations at South Africa side Cell C Sharks, is an adviser to the new Saracens ownership, and represents a host of top players including Maro Itoje, Siya Kolisi and Cheslin Kolbe.

Ospreys chief executive Nick Garcia has experience of working across several clubs. Previously with City Football Group, Garcia formed part of the team which helped Manchester City expand their ownership. City’s owners now also control Melbourne City, Yokohama F. Marinos, and Mumbai City.

Y11 hope to do similar in rugby as they look to benefit from the changing landscape in rugby pushed forward by private equity firms such as Silver Lake and CVC.