ARL lines up Warriors as NFL group circles
AUCKLAND Rugby League is preparing to make another bid for the Warriors, after its attempt with the Waipareira Trust collapsed in October.
Sunday News can reveal the ARL is back in the hunt for the NRL club and is looking for a new partner to team up with.
However, it faces competition from other parties still interested in buying the club from Eric Watson.
One is a group that has a lot of connections with New Zealand and includes former NFL gridiron players.
That group is also interested in other sporting organisations, but the Warriors is a key one for them now.
It is understood they have looked at buying the Warriors outright, but could also be willing to team up with the ARL, to replace the Waipareira Trust.
What looked to be a dream ticket of the ARL and the Waipareira Trust looked set to buy the Warriors off Watson.
The Warriors and Cullen Investments, the company that owns the club, gave the joint venture financial figures.
These were passed onto international accounting firm Deloitte, which came up with a valuation of the club, and it’s believed a figure of around $15m was settled on.
But the Waipareira Trust walked away, with its investment board disapproving of the price.
The Waipareira Trust was formed in 1984 to provide a cohesive voice for urban Maori in Auckland. It applies for Government funding to run various programmes from health, to education and social programmes.
Its CEO is former MP John Tamihere, a former board member of the NZRL.
It may seem odd that it would look to invest in an NRL club, but because league is popular among Maori and a working-class sport, the organisation recognised it could be a good fit.
Having young Maori involved in league clubs is better than them hanging out on the streets or in gangs.
For Auckland Rugby League, partnering with the trust was a bonus, because it brought good business acumen to the table.
Despite that bid not working out, the ARL is confident it has the expertise to turn around the Warriors’’ fortunes on the field
The current Warriors’ business model is a strong one, with high-profile sponsors, but the ARL wanted a good commercial partner so the club continued to work well with those sponsors.
The arrangement between the two parties was that the Waipareira Trust would own 25 per cent of the club, which is enough of a minority vote to have a say in material transactions.
The ARL would buy the rest initially, but then look to on-sell part of their share, while still remaining the majority stakeholder.
However, with the Waipareira Trust out of the picture the ARL wanted to find new partners.
It had an exclusivity deal with the Warriors, but inside the time frame of that deal it contacted the Warriors to say it hadn’t been able to find new partners.
This meant it lost its exclusivity arrangement and allowed others to negotiate with the club.
However, the ARL hasn’t given up hope of taking back control of the club.
It has been talking to other potential investors, including the group with NFL connections, to see if anyone is willing to meet the price Watson values the club at.
It may also look to launch another bid on its own.
ARL CEO Cameron McGregor wouldn’t comment on negotiations, but says there needs to be a stronger connection between the ARL and the Warriors. GETTY IMAGES
‘‘It’s fair to say that the Warriors haven’t had much to do with the Auckland Rugby League over the last 17 years,’’ McGregor said.
‘‘For anyone to buy the Warriors and have long-term success, they’re going to have to form some sort of association with Auckland Rugby League.
‘‘Our issue at the moment is that we’re losing 500 of our best juniors every year to Australia and we’ve got to stop that happening.
‘‘We’ve got to provide pathways and enough money to keep those kids here in New Zealand.
‘‘That’s a problem any owner of the Warriors faces.’’
British-based businessman Watson has been offloading his New Zealand assets.
The Te Hihi Estate in Karaka, which had a capital valuation of just under $6m, has been sold by Watson’s Cullen Investments to Luxury Resorts NZ, according to property records.
The Soul Bar & Bistro in Auckland’s Viaduct Basin has been put on the market.
So could the Warriors be the next part of his empire to go?
‘ It’s fair to say that the Warriors haven’t had much to do with the Auckland Rugby League over the last 17 years.’ ARL CHIEF EXECUTIVE CAMERON MCGREGOR