New Zealand Rugby is in talks to sell its main shirt sponsorship inventory, from the All Blacks down to Under-20 level, to a single investor, according to the SportBusiness website.
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According to a report in the New Zealand Herald newspaper, the union has a proposal ready to take to market, but has not yet entered formal discussions with investors.
It is claimed that the target buyers are “giant private equity groups” or “major US or Japanese advertising agencies” which would sell on the rights to sponsor brands.
The governing body has reportedly talked informally to equity groups like CVC Capital, an investor in the UK’s Premiership Rugby and with proposed interests in PRO14 and Six Nations rugby on hold because of the Covid-19 pandemic; and Silver Lake, a major investor in the Endeavor sports and entertainment agency, which recently acquired a stake in City Football Group for $500m.
The rights would include the full portfolio of shirt sponsorship rights – the All Blacks, Black Ferns, Sevens, Maori and U20 team – and has been valued at more than NZ$300m (R3.3 billion) over five years.
The need to raise cash is pressing at NZR, which expects to lose revenue of NZ$120m in the current fiscal year because of Covid-19, and will lose its main shirt sponsor, finance and insurance brand AIG, at the end of its current deal – worth about NZ$120m over five years – in 2021.
