ACT Brumbies start process to sell up to 49 per cent of the club
The Canberra-based club is searching for private investors, locally or from overseas, in a deal that could value the Super Rugby club in the tens of millions.
The ACT Brumbies are up for sale, as officials search for private investors in a deal that could value the Super Rugby club in the tens of millions.
The Canberra-based team, the most successful Australian side in Super Rugby history, have commenced a process to sell up to 49 per cent of the club to local or international backers.
Brumbies chief executive Phil Thomson told The Australian that the club, now owned by the local ACT rugby union governing body, is looking for the money at a time when rugby union is enjoying an upswing in popularity.
“There’s a great opportunity with what Rugby Australia has put in place over the next decade, what they’re calling the ‘golden decade’ with the (British) Lions tour in 2025 and then World Cups in 2027 and 2029,” Thomson said.
“All of that will be fantastic and there will be certainly be flow on effect into the rugby community from those events and what we need to do as organisation and to stay as what we believe is the premier Super Rugby team in Australia, is to find a level of investment to keep pace with everything and stay ahead of the game.”
The Brumbies have engaged advisers and prepared an investment deck to be sent to prospective investors, with the funds raised to be used to shore up the Brumbies balance sheet – revenue is about $18-20m annually and the club usually posts small profits or losses – and to help grow interest in rugby at a grassroots level and attract more fans to the sport.
Thomson said the Brumbies hoped the sales process would flush out interest from buyers in Australia and overseas, given rugby union clubs in the northern hemisphere are mostly owned by private individuals or corporations.
“It could be a big investment company or a rugby-friendly individual. We will take all those inquiries as they come to us. It would be good to have some local connection but we are open to worldwide offers,” Thomson said.
“The thing about the Brumbies brand is it is known worldwide and the reach of Super Rugby is worldwide too. So we think it will interest people in a lot of different areas.”
The Brumbies, who are debt free, are projecting a 25 per cent increase in membership and game day revenue annually through to the men’s World Cup in Australia in 2027 (the women’s event will be held two years later) as rugby’s finances recover after Covid-19.
The club should also benefit from a revamped Super Rugby competition agreement with New Zealand, a new broadcast deal after 2026 and increased funding from Rugby Australia from next year onwards.
Thomson would not be drawn as to what value the Brumbies could achieve in a sale transaction, though the move comes as private ownership of Australian sports clubs increases in both volume and team value, outside of the AFL and cricket’s Big Bash League.
Stakes in several National Basketball League teams have changed hands at $35m values in the past two years, with Tesla chair Robyn Denholm last year buying a 30 per cent stake in the Sydney Kings at an even higher valuation.
Meanwhile, A-League soccer club Melbourne Victory recently clinched a new investment deal with Miami-based 777 Partners in a deal that could value the team at up to $50m. Accounts recently lodged with the corporate regulator show the Victory lost $6.7m from $15m revenue in the 2022 financial year.
The most valuable Australian sports team is the ASX-listed National Rugby League side Brisbane Broncos, which has market capitalisation of about $110m. News Corporation, the publisher of The Australian, owns a majority stake in the Broncos. While the club missed the NRL finals this year it delivers regular profits, including a $3.6m pre-tax profit for the six months to June 30.
Meanwhile, Rugby Australia is continuing negotiations for a private equity investment of its own that could see the national governing body raise $150m for an ownership stake in its commercial arm.
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