Tesla chair Robyn Denholm buying WNBL with Larry Kestelman

Tesla chair Robyn Denholm will become the first female majority owner of an Australian sports league as she leads a syndicate with billionaire property developer Larry Kestelman to buy the WNBL.

Robyn Denholm is hitting new highs with her purchase of the WNBL. Picture: Macami

Tesla chair Robyn Denholm will become the first female to be part of a majority ownership of an Australian sports league, after striking a deal to buy the Women’s National Basketball League.

Ms Denholm is joining Larry Kestelman, the owner of the men’s NBL, in buying a majority stake in the WNBL from governing body Basketball Australia in a deal announced on Thursday morning.

Exact terms have not been disclosed, and the term sheet agreement will not be finalised for 60 days and also not start until after the end of the next 2024-25 season.

But sources have indicated that Ms Denholm could emerge as a 49 per cent shareholder of the league in a transaction valuing it at $20-25m, while Mr Kestelman – a fellow member ofThe List – Australia’s Richest 250 – is set to have a stake of about 29 per cent.

Basketball Australia will maintain a minority stake, with Mr Kestelman having a future option to buy that stake.

Under the new ownership structure, the consortium will take control of the league, with the NBL to operate the WNBL, from April 2, 2025.

A keen basketball fan, Ms Denholm is already the majority owner of the Hoops Capital business that owns the Sydney Kings NBL team and Sydney Flames WNBL side via her Wollemi Capital family office.

Robyn Denholm, right, already is a majority owner of the Sydney Kings and Sydney Flames

“We are excited to be a major part of the syndicate that will guide the future direction as well as provide the right level of support and investment needed in the sport for decades to come,” she said in a statement.

“There is much work to be done to transform the League into a platform that our amazing female players, clubs, fans and all involved richly deserve.”

“We are proud to be part of a group that will now have an opportunity to rethink what the best version of the WNBL can look like, and set the direction for the future as we did for the NBL. We believe this is a truly exciting proposition for us, the players, the fans, and everyone involved,” NBL owner Kestelman said.

“The female athletes in the sport, as well as younger girls aspiring for greatness, deserve better and we believe we can, with time, deliver something to be proud of, but do not underestimate the work and challenges ahead.”

NBL owner Larry Kestelman is joining Denholm’s consortium.

Mr Kestelman took control of the NBL in a privatisation deal of the then struggling league in 2015, with Basketball Australia maintaining the ownership of the WNBL.

But the women’s league has struggled financially in recent years and some owners have been critical of Basketball Australia’s running of the league and calling for outside capital and business acumen in order to put it on a firmer footing on and off the court.

“We will spend the next few months and beyond listening and learning as much as we can from the clubs, players, fans and key stakeholders to ensure we make the appropriate changes for long term sustainability and the establishment of a world-class League,” NBL CEO David Stevenson said.

“We are excited and feel privileged to be the new custodians of Australia’s oldest women’s professional sports competition, and we believe this group is best placed to bring sustained success and unprecedented growth.”

Basketball Australia chief executive Matt Scriven called the deal’s announcement a “commitment by all parties to elevate the WNBL and ensure the future of women’s basketball in Australia”.

The WNBL started in 1981.