By Steffan Thomas
Y-11 Sports & Media, the majority shareholders at the Ospreys, are weighing up a move to buy the Melbourne Rebels.
The Hong Kong based sports marketing group bought a 75.1 per cent stake in the Ospreys in May 2020 creating a new holding company Ospreys International Group.
They claimed at the time that all the financial benefits from the transaction would be put back into the Welsh side.
Now they are looking to expand their sporting portfolio with Australian Super Rugby outfit the Melbourne Rebels in their sights.
According to reports, they also have plans to also buy a majority share in a third team in either the Japanese Top League or Major League Rugby in the US.
It is unclear how the Ospreys would benefit if a deal were to go through, but Y-11 have ambitions to make the Welsh side major players in European rugby.
The Rebels’ position as one of five professional Australian franchises has always been scrutinised due to the precarious financial position of the Australian Rugby Union.
They are currently owned by the Victorian Rugby Union, but their fortunes would improve significantly if they were taken over by an institutional investor.
New Ospreys Owner Insists Region Was Best Fit In Europe . . . And Rugby Is About To Boom https://t.co/JeGY7Sj90D via @Dai_Sport_
— Dai Sport (@Dai_Sport_) May 18, 2020
If Y-11 are successful in completing a deal to take over the Rebels, it will be the latest in a growing trend of institutional investment in rugby union.
Perhaps the best example in rugby is Roc Nation, which is owned by American rapper Jay-Z taking control of South African franchise the Sharks along with a host of top players including Cheslin Kolbe, Maro Itoje, Tendai Mtawarira, Sbu Nkosi, and Siya Kolisi.
Ospreys’ chief executive Nick Garcia has experience in this having previously been an executive at City Football Group and Manchester City.
City Football Group own a host of soccer clubs including Manchester City, Melbourne City, Yokohama F. Marinos, and Mumbai City.
Now Y-11 are looking to do similar in rugby as they look to benefit from the changing landscape of rugby pushed forward by private equity firms such as Silver Lake and CVC.
