A consortium of investors led by former Qantas chairman Leigh Clifford is attempting to acquire the Melbourne Rebels after it collapsed into administration earlier this year.
Mr Clifford, the former chief executive of Rio Tinto and father of former Melbourne Rebels director Georgia Widdup, is working with private equity and other investors to raise $30 million to invest in the Victorian rugby union team, which went into administration early this year after failing to pay millions of dollars in tax.
The consortium said it is still in discussions about moving the women’s and men’s professional club to the western suburbs and there is no guarantee a deal will go ahead. It said it had made strong progress with raising between $20 million and $30 million from private equity and that the federal government was briefed on the matter.
If successful, the club would relocate to Wyndham, a suburb that is home to one of the largest Pasifika communities in Melbourne. Matches would be played at the precinct owned by Western Melbourne Group.
Ms Widdup said the move would be a “game-change” for the sport in Victoria. “We have an exciting vision and a detailed, common-sense plan to grow the sport of rugby,” she said. “This is an opportunity to grow rugby’s grassroots supporter base and attract significant new private investment to make the game sustainable into the future.”
The Rebels entered voluntary administration one month after The Australian Financial Review revealed it was struggling to pay its tax bills and stadium fees. A creditors meeting revealed the club owed the Tax Office more than $11.5 million, and other creditors, including board directors, are owed almost $6 million.
The Rebels board is still considering legal action against the governing body, claiming it is purposefully trying to axe the number of local teams in Super Rugby.
Rugby Australia was approached for comment.
More to come
https://www.afr.com/companies/sport/...0240403-p5fh4l
Originally Posted by jargan83
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