New Zealand Rugby has crossed the ditch for advice in handling its own breakdown.
Following tackles by potential private equity suitors, NZ Rugby has called in Jefferies Australia’s investment banking team to help clear the ball from the ruck and find the right investor for a future proofing deal.
Rugby NZ was a $NZ100 million a year business at the revenue line, however it spent a lot of its cash reserves getting through the COVID-19 pandemic. Â Getty Images
It is understood NZ Rugby was hit with a range of tackles; everything from clean round the ankles offers from traditional private equity firms to head-high structured alternatives that looked more like foul play than the game they play in heaven.
While the approaches – and its own books – meant NZ Rugby saw the need to consider the private equity proposals, sources said they were yet to decide anything.
The focus was said to be on securing a capital injection, in what would effectively be a stake in the NZ Rugby’s commercial operations – sponsorships, merchandise and ticket sales, and the like.
New Zealand Rugby has crossed the ditch for advice in handling its own breakdown.
