Tesla chairwoman Robyn Denholm and the majority owner of the National Basketball League, Larry Kestelman, are among a group of bidders vying for a piece of Australia’s women’s basketball league after submitting a proposal late on Friday.

People with direct knowledge of the process, who were not authorised to speak publicly, said Wollemi Capital, the family office of Ms Denholm, and Mr Kestelman’s NBL had submitted a joint bid to take partial ownership of the WNBL, a deal that could inject at least $20 million into the local game.