Andrew Gordon plots to save Dragons after dad Bruce withdrawals from St George Illawarra purchase
THE son of media mogul Bruce Gordon has emerged as the frontrunner to buy St George Illawarra after Gordon’s WIN Corporation left the Dragons at the altar.
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THE son of media mogul Bruce Gordon has emerged as the frontrunner to buy St George Illawarra after Gordon’s WIN Corporation left the Dragons at the altar.
Two years worth of protracted negotiations between the Dragons and WIN has amounted to nothing with St George Illawarra left shocked by WIN’s decision to withdraw from buying a 50 per cent stake in the club.
The high flying Dragons undefeated start to the season has not helped in their bid to sell off part of the club.
Their attention will now turn to alternative buyers with Bruce’s son Andrew in the process of exploring ways to purchase the club individually. Andrew — who is WIN’s executive chairman — is in the midst of trying to source the $10 million needed to purchase the Illawarra’s 50 per cent stake in the joint venture.
Andrew already sits on the St George Illawarra board.
While Andrew is hopeful — rather than certain he will gain the capital needed to make the purchase — the Dragons are exploring other potential buyers. It is understood another wealthy businessman has reached to the club with officials exploring ways to fast-track his interest.
“The Dragons are now actively pursuing other options and alternatives with a number of other interested parties who expressed interest during the period that discussions were being held with WIN Corporation,” the Dragons said in a statement.
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“The Dragons board remains committed to ensuring they identify the right partner for the long-term, and are confident that the 50 per cent sale will be completed this year.”
Despite months and months of waiting and growing increasingly frustrated the Dragons were always confident the deal with WIN would go ahead but they were left blindsided when the news filtered through late last week. WIN was always considered a perfect fit for the Dragons brand.
The Dragons said WIN would “maintain their significant sponsorship and association with the club”.
An inability to close out a partnership deal could see the Dragons struggle to repay the debt they owe to the NRL. The Dragons still owe less than $6 million after making a $600,000 repayment to the NRL last October.
The sell-off is meant to be departing chief executive Peter Doust’s final task before he steps down from the role at the end of the season after almost two decades at the helm. A nominations committee of the Dragons board has been formed to find a recruitment agency to assist with the task of finding Dousts’s replacement.
Meanwhile, former player and coach Craig Young has replaced Warren Lockwood on the Dragons board.